


Sakura's Ordeal

by R_4_L



Series: Konoha 12 [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon timline with minor OC, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:28:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7858117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_4_L/pseuds/R_4_L
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura is on a solo mission when thing go horribly wrong.  Naruto will do anything he can for his best friend, the question is will it break Sakura's relationship with Sauke or Naruto?</p><p>Canon-ish timeline takes place about a year after the fourth great ninja war, and a couple of months after "The Strength of the Leaf"</p><p>Mention of rape, torture, and PTSD please be wary if you have triggers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Missing

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Your OTP are just starting to get together when one sees the other in bed with a third person even though it is strictly platonic. What will they do?
> 
> I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, they are the sole property of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just a fan.

Naruto stood in the Hokage's office with Captain Yamato and listened to the report that Sakura was two weeks late. She'd gone on an escort mission that was slated to be a B-Class. While it wasn't ideal that she went by herself, the fact of the matter was that the Leaf Village was still short handed. "Why did you send her alone?"

"Naruto are you truly asking me why I sent a capable shinobi on a mission?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked at his former student. "You know Sakura is more than able to handle a mission like this."

"Yeah, but she's missing!" He whined.

"We don't know that she's missing, what we know is that she's late. That is why I am asking you and Captain Yamato to go and find her trail and see what happened." He pretended not to hear 'two weeks late' mumbled under the jinchuriki's breath.

"Where was she going? Do we know if she finished her mission or if she met with trouble on the way there?" Yamato's questions drew attention to the real matter.

"Actually we're not sure. The mission scroll that Iruka assigned her, was for her to escort a minor dignitary through the land of Rice Paddy's to a village on the other side to help settle a dispute of succession. The man had a team of three bodyguards who were reported to be good, but not ninjas. Sakura was asked because the man also had a bad heart and if he needed medical attention on the road, who better then a medical ninja." Kakashi sat back in his chair, "Sakura was the best choice for this mission Naruto."

"What about the project you had Shikamaru and Shino working on last month?" Yamato's question brought worry to Kakshi's eyes, "I see, well that explains why you only want Naruto and I to go. Do we know which way she went?"

"Kotetsu and Izumo noted the group leaving by the main gate early in the morning five weeks ago. There's nothing else of note in the traffic log for that day or the night before. Two nights prior there is mention of a large group of traveling merchants leaving the village. They were new to the area, but went a different direction."

"What about any other mission?"

"Nothing of note, all missions have been complete and the shinobi assigned have returned safely." Kakashi seemed frustrated.

For once Naruto was quiet, he listened; somehow knowing that time was of the essence for his friend. Captain Yamato and Kakshi-sensei knew something he didn't, but getting into it now would only delay things. He'd wait until they were on the road before he asked, once again needing to have things explained. He watched his two former sensei talk without words. There were times that he still felt so inadequate and stupid. 

"Naruto, can you be ready to go within the hour?" the Hokage inquired. Once he received a nod he dismissed his young friend.

"I'll meet you at Ichraku's before we go." Yamato watched him leave before turning back to his friend, "Did he seem a little TOO accommodating senpai?"

"I'm sure you'll be pestered with questions once you're on the road. On the other hand he has matured quite a bit in the last couple of years. Here's a copy of the mission scroll Iruka gave Sakura."

"A copy?"

"Yeah, when Shino figured out how the traitor was getting the information to fake missions and who we suspected, we started copying those scrolls. I have another copy filed away, and a couple of ANBU watching our suspect. I know that tracking isn't your strong point and it sure isn't Naruto's, however, I also know that Naruto would be the first to notice Sakura's absence and he'd also make the most noise about it. Besides with his strength you might just need him since it's just the two of you."

"Who else knows?"

"Well, I had to talk to her parents, they're both willing to keep quiet. Shikamaru and Shino were consulted with regards to the mission scroll, and Ino came and asked as they had an appointment or something, I also have to assume that Choji, Kiba and Hinata know. The six of them will keep quiet. That's eight people in the village, more than I want; but even if Sai, Tenten, and Rock Lee find out I trust that they will also keep quiet for Sakura's safety."

"Well as we know, that group will pull together to protect each other." The two friends thought back to events in the past year. Shino and Hana had suggested a party to help the twelve remaining friends get over the loss of one of their own as well as to help the Nara Clan and the Yamanaka Clan get through the loss of their patriarchs. It went so well that they replicated them in other neighborhoods. It just went to show how much those 12 students pulled together to help one another and watch each other's backs. "I better go and meet up with Naruto."

"Good Luck," Kakashi sincerely hoped that everything went well and went quickly.

Yamato reached the ramen shop just in time to see Naruto and Hinata finish their meal. He stood back to watch the young couple, he thought there might be something between them, but wasn't sure. 

"I'll get this one Hinata," Naruto said quietly.

"Are you ok Naruto?" Hinata voice trembled slightly and she still blushed when she was around him, but it was nice to meet him from time to time for a meal. It was almost like a date. "You seem upset?"

Naruto immediately perked up, his artificial hand behind his head and a wide smile on his face, "No way, I'm good. Waiting on Captain Yamato."

"Heading out on a mission Naruto?" Shikamaru's voice came from the other side, catching Naruto off guard and bringing a deeper blush to Hinata's cheeks.

Naruto swung around, "Shikamaru! Temari! what are you two doing here?"

"Well coming to eat would be the most obvious answer." Shikamaru had an arm around the Suni jonin's waist as they stood inside the ramen shop.

"Hey well you can't do better than Ichiraku's, hey old man?" Naruto's voice boomed.

"You said it Naruto." Teuchi replied from behind the counter.

"Are you leaving on a mission Naruto?" Hinata restated the question Naruto ignored.

"Nah, Captain Yamato's helping me with a couple of things, things I likely should have learned back in the academy." Naruto tried to make it sound like a plausible situation. He didn't need help controlling the nine tails anymore, he and Kumara got along well, but he quickly grasped the idea in the Hokage's office that this mission was one that was to remain quiet. He trusted his friends, but as Shino and Shikamaru continued to remind him, you never knew who else was listening. "you guys know how I need to do things over and over again, things you all understood at school."

Yamato was impressed, Naruto had figured out a reasonable scenario to explain why they'd be gone, but he also knew that Naruto wasn't a great liar. "Hey Naruto, you ready to go?"

"Sure thing Captain." Naruto made sure that he paid for the meal he and Hinata had shared, before bidding his three friend a good day. 

The pair head towards one of the side gates that led out to various training grounds. "I overheard you talking to Shikamaru back there, the idea of us training is a good one and very believable. You're really starting to think strategically."

"Well I'm pretty sure that Shikamaru and Temari will figure it out if they get asked about me anytime this week. Temari is just as smart as Shikamaru is. Hinata can be trusted, but again I think she might piece it together if she decides to come look for either me or Sakura." Naruto's voice was introspective. "I feel bad for lying, but I know Sakura's safety depends on it. I figure if you can help me with a couple of things while we're walking then I won't have been lying about it all." Naruto watched his feet as they travelled.

"Sure, think about what you want to go over and we'll talk about it when we stop for the night."

The two shinobi took to the trees and tried to cover as much distance as possible, while still looking for whatever clues might still be left, although five weeks was a long time and a lot of people had passed this way. Stopping for the night Yamato set up camp while Naruto forged for food. He came back to the campsite with an armful of vegetables and a rabbit that he'd already dressed. Yamato watched as Naruto pulled out a small wok and proceeded to created a simple stew. "Where'd you learn to do this?"

"Well I asked Kosuke to show me which plants to collect and where to look for food as well as how to make a couple of things." Naruto quartered the rabbit and put it on sharpened sticks to roast while he chopped the vegetables and laid them off to the side, "water, I forgot water." he muttered to himself, as he headed off towards the nearby stream with his canteen. He emptied the canteen into the pot and placed it on a couple of stones so that it was mostly over the fire. He headed off to refill his canteen. Sitting back down Naruto added the vegetables to the now boiling water, before turning the rabbit. "I figured it be something to help out. Food pills get old after a while."

The ex-ANBU officer was impressed. Most shinobi could cook a meal or two on the road, but he had to admit Kosuke was the best at creating meals out of nothing but what he found. Naruto was the best cook for team seven, that he thought to expand his knowledge in an area he already excelled was something else. He looked at the pot in amazement, the meal was just the right size for the two of them with no left over, and no waste. Yamato watched the young jinchuriki as he dished out the meal. Something had been bugging him for a while now. It started with Naruto's refusal to become Hokage last year, when Lady Tsunade put his name forth as her successor and the village elders had supported it. Shikamaru had been sent to talk to him and then later had reported his concerns to the Hokage, Kakashi and himself. It was after that conversation that he really started to listen just what it was that Naruto said when he spoke to all of them. His phrasing and word choice. He never realized just how poor the blonde's self esteem really was. 

"Naruto, " he reached for the bowl of food the young genin handed him as he tried to reassure his young friend, "I know you think you're far behind everyone else when it comes to certain skills, but you're not. You need something more than books to learn from, that's all. The fact that you ask those around you for help goes to show how you understand your own weaknesses and work to improve them. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You could have forged ahead with no knowledge and no care but the fact that you chose to wait and ask your friends again shows maturity. Why not go for help from those you trust, those who know you best."

"I guess, I still feel really stupid sometimes though." Naruto was starting to get down and that wasn't good.

"Is there a reason why you only seem to approach your friends for help, and not come to Iruka, Kakashi or myself?"

Naruto stared into his empty bowl. Did he want to tell the truth or should he soften the blow. Taking another breath, he figured he'd go with what he'd want to hear. If he asked one of his friends a questions, he'd want to hear only the truth no matter how much it hurt. "I guess because I still have a little trouble when it come to trusting you all to actually help me."

Tenzo flinched at that. Had they done something to cause this? Had they really let him down to point of him choosing to listen to his friends instead of his mentors? "Can you explain how we've lost your trust?" His voice was quiet, patient.

"It's not so much that you've lost my trust, it's more.. I guess it's kind of.." He stuttered as he tried to figure out how to explain it, "it's like, well I guess it's just that I don't think any of you really have the time or I guess the interest in explaining things to me in a way that I'll understand." Naruto put the dish aside, the food tasted like ash in his mouth now. "I mean in the academy, Iruka was busy with all of us. He was making lesson plans, marking tests, and dealing with little shits like me. He still is. When I was training with Kakashi he always seemed more concerned with helping Sasuke with the sharingan. I understood, because who else was there to teach him how to use it." He tried to justify what he was saying. Jealousy didn't have to make sense to to make an impact. "After Sasuke left, Kakashi focused on Sakura and making sure that she had the support she needed; while I felt that I was nothing more than an annoyance. With Master Jiraya, I was often left on my own when we were training together. I sometimes wonder if he resented the Hokage asking him to watch over me. Even when you joined, if I had questions, you often had Sakura or Sai explain things so I stopped asking you. I don't want to sound like I'm whining and complaining. I mean I learned a lot from all of you. I guess it felt like asking for explanations was just more then you wanted to be bothered with." 

Yamato was shocked by the assessment, but looking back at it, he supposed that Naruto was correct. Whenever they'd gone on missions as Squad 7, even he had gone over the mission specs once with group but often left it to one of the others to explain the details to Naruto. It was only when they were working one on one that he had taken the time needed to make sure Naruto understood everything. He couldn't speak to Iruka or Jiraya mind set, although he had no reason to doubt Naruto, but Kakashi had chosen to work with Sasuke as their chakra natures were so similar and he'd had more experience with the sharingan then Sasuke did. Maybe he'd better clarify some of the misconceptions up. "I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't realize until you pointed it out just how much I have failed you as Captain of Team Kakashi. But I do want you to realize the impact you have had on the lives of those around you, did you know that some of your friends are taking what they've learned from you and are using it to help teach the students at the academy."

Naruto was flustered, "What do you mean I taught my friends?"

"Well, I've heard from Iruka that when Shino or Choji teach they often thinks of you first. They first teach the concepts using the traditional book learning way as most students understand, but then they reinforce the concepts with practical training, the same as how they'd explain things to you. Even the other instructors like Genma and Radiou and Iurka; himself have changed their teaching methods because of your influence."

Yamato let Naruto think that over. He knew that Naruto would take his time going through the conversation making sure he understood it. Yamato smiled to himself, here he was telling Naruto how his learning style had affected all of his friends, when even he had changed how he explained things to best suit Naruto.

"I'll take first watch, you go rest for now." Naruto voice was back to it's regular timbre, so Yamato left him to ponder everything.

The next couple of days as they tracked Sakura's path, saw the pair keep a routine of searching during the day and having in depth discussions in the evening on a variety of topics. It was during one of these discussions that Yamato asked about Hinata.

"So are you going to finally ask her out on a date?" Yamato figured that the entire group except Naruto knew how Hinata felt about the blonde powerhouse. 

"I'm not sure, I just..." Naruto stammered. He looked across the fire at one of the four men he'd looked up to. Iruka was the big brother he always wanted. He was the one Naruto continually strived to impress and make proud. Jiraya had been like a grandfather to him, the one who had humoured him, but also seemed to understand him the most. He still missed the sage and hoped Jiraya was proud of the man he'd become. Kakashi and Yamato were like older cousins, they were the ones to tease him. He remembered the few discussions he'd had with his father and his mother during the war. He knew that Kakashi had been one of his father's favorite subordinates. Yamato was perhaps the one he knew the least, but he was also the one that never seemed to flinch when he lost control. He'd never seemed afraid of Kumara inside of him. Maybe Yamato could help him. "Captain Yamato, how do you know if you love someone?" 

Yamato was ready to make a flippant remark, when he really looked at Naruto. He was serious, the boy was really trying to figure out if he was in love.

"I suppose it's in how you feel when you're around them. They make you feel, happy and complete." Yamato rubbed his hand over his heart, "it's different from how you feel about your family or friends."

"The thing is- I've only ever had Iruka-Sensei growing up, at least until I became part of squad seven with Kakashi-Sensei. I mean- I think of Sasuke as a brother, and I care for my other friends but.."

"You're trying figure out your feelings for Hinata?" He saw his young charge nod from across their campsite. It makes sense on how confused the young man would be. Growing up without his parent's love and only the contempt of the village for so long, would make anyone question the validity of one's own feelings. "Ok, perhaps the simplest way is to compare how you feel about two different people. Let's look at your feelings for Tenten. How do you feel around her, what's the first thoughts that come to mind?"

"Tenten," Naruto thought for a bit, "well I enjoy talking to her, finding out what new weapons she has. I tried to learn her summoning spells but I just can't do it. She's smart, but she doesn't make me feel like a complete idiot, I mean after all she deals with bushy brow all the time."

Yamato laughed at that, "Yes she does, but do you want to spend more time with her? Can you picture yourself kissing her?"

Naruto tried to see Tenten like that and just couldn't, "No, no way, she's just...no. She's my friend."

"Alright, now try visualize the same things with Ino and Sakura."

He was quiet for a while and Yamato thought he might have pushed a little too far by including Sakura. He was going to amend his question when the young shinobi spoke up. "Well I feel the same about Ino as I do about Tenten, except she scares me a little. I mean I care for them and want them safe, but it's friendship like I have with Kiba or Choji. I can see that they're pretty but I don't want to kiss them. Sakura is different. I care for her in a different way, I mean I still want to make sure that she's safe. No that's not it, it's more like I HAVE to make sure she's safe. When she's hurt or upset, I need to make her happy."

Yamato sighed, that sounded like love to him, but what about.. "and Hinata how do you feel about her?"

"Confused," Naruto's answer was immediate, "I mean she's beautiful and kind and giving, and I want to protect her from all the hurts in the world. When I'm with her, I feel good, like I can do anything. She's so smart and beautiful and I know that she said she loved me but I don't know why me?"

"Well, I'm no expert but it sounds like you might be in love there. The question is are you in love with Hinata or Sakura? Or do your feeling for Sakura reflect the fact that she's your teammate and therefore a closer friend then the other kunoichi?"

"Well, I mean, Hinata has told me that she loves me, while Sakura never has, I know she cares about me. Sakura keeps saying she's in love with Sasuke, they're together. I just wanna make sure he treats her right, and I know that he does. Still if that makes her happy, then she should be with him."

Yamato wondered if Naruto had realized what he said. He figured that Naruto was just as in love with Hinata as she was with him, but both of them were too shy and unsure about the other one to say anything. "Matter's of the heart are things that need to be thought over carefully and not rushed. The biggest thing is to talk and share your feelings. It can be embarrassing and painful but you must be truthful about it, all the while being considerate of the other person. It's not an easy balance to maintain. Take your time and make sure of your feelings."

Naruto once again seemed to take his time digesting what was said. He fiddled with the wrappings of his artificial arm as he thought. Yamato figured that he'd work through his feeling and what they meant over the next day or so The fact that he made Naruto compare his feeling between Hinata, Sakura, Ino and Tenten would ultimately help the young man understand what was in his heart. "I'll take first watch Naruto, you relax for a bit." Yamato got up and moved high into a nearby tree. Close enough for him to keep an eye on Naruto, but far enough away that the young man had some privacy and he could still watch for any enemies that might be near by. The next morning Naruto was still quiet as they packed up camp and headed off towards the village Sakura was to have escorted her client. 

They reached the village a week after setting out from home. It had taken longer then it normally would have, but they had been searching for clues. It was of average size, with the shops open and the people seemingly friendly. Naruto was back to his friendly self. The two of them met with the village elder who had assured them that Sakura had done her job admirably. Yamato spun a story about them being there to do a performance review on her skills to obscure the fact that she was missing.

"She was an excellent shinobi, very professional." The village elder held a picture of Sakura that Naruto had brought with him. "She looked after me and when my aid fell ill with food poisoning she helped get him on his feet in no time. I have to admit, I offered her a good wage and free reign to design a medical clinic if she would leave the Hidden Leaf village to come and stay with us. She turned me down flat."

"The people who you wanted protection from again were?"

"Oh I didn't need protection, well not really," the elder settled into his seat behind his desk while Naruto gazed out the window and Yamato grilled the man. "I was entrusted with the will of one of our local nobles, and a good friend of mine. He had two sons, and he had divided his lands unevenly, so one son received much more than the other. It's a long journey from here to there and if they were to attack me and replace the original will with one they created, they could dictate who controlled the family's wealth. I needed protection for the will, not for me. I also requested someone with medical knowledge because of my age and health. I am dying and I know it, but if I could perform this last act for my friend I would do so to the best of my ability. Once the will was read and the matters of succession settled the danger to me had passed. Sakura-chan saw me back home here and then returned to the Hidden Leaf."

"How long did your entire journey take?" Yamato seemed to know exactly which questions to ask. Naruto figured the older shinobi had a list of them in his head. The interview was going so smoothly, he wondered how many of these Captain Yamato had done in his life.

"Well, it took four days for Sakura and my aid to arrive here from the Leaf. I use a caravan to travel because I cannot walk far and am no longer able to ride a horse so it took us an additional five days to get to where we read the will. We spent three days there settling things and the headed back here. While it normally takes another five days to get from there to here, because one of my guard was sick, like I mentioned, it took us seven as she required frequent stops. She mentioned rushing home because she was expecting a visitor. So she could have made it back in two days depending on her speed. So all in total she was in my company for 20 days."

"Do you know which road she took when she left your village here?"

"She headed north." The elder was starting to get a little wary of the questions, "Is there something wrong with Sakura-chan? I followed the protocol correctly."

Naruto spoke up for the first time, "we are checking that what Sakura wrote in her report is what happened. We need to check out every aspect of the mission as well. She and this mission were randomly chosen to be part of an audit. It is in our analysis of this data that lets us know where we can improve and how to make our missions more efficient."

"Oh. Well. That makes sense. Ok." After that the elder was more willing to tell everything he knew.

Yamato and Naruto left the village by the north road, satisfied they had garnered all the information they could on Sakura's mission.

"Where'd you learn about mission audits and data analysis?" Yamato had been seriously impressed with the way Naruto had handled things in the Lord Elders chambers. He had even kept his emotion in check.

"Hmm, oh well I've been working with Iruka and Shikamaru on some of the paperwork in order for me to be ready to be Hokage and they were the ones to talk about how an audit of the mission files would be a benefit to streamlining the process. I don't really understand the details of what they were talking about, but it kinda sounded like what you were saying and I knew we needed more information from the geezer. I figured feeding him a line of bullshit that sounded similar to what you were saying would work. After all most of these lords and noble types are the ones who read all reports the rest of us work so hard to put together."

"Don't forget as the future Hokage, you will be reading all those reports too!" Yamato smiled at the scared look on his face, "anyway, however you thought of it, it sounded completely plausible. Did you believe him when he said Sakura left the village?"

"Yeah, but not really because of anything he said just a gut feeling that she wasn't there, but that she's in trouble. We're still close enough to the village. Let me go into Sage mode and double check."

Yamato nodded, "Ok but let's get you off the road and out of sight." He was still amazed at what a dichotomy Naruto often presented. Shaking his head he watched as Naruto walked off the road and into the trees about five meters before sitting at the base of a large tree to gather nature energy and go into Sage mode. Yamato kept watch, proud of the strong man before him. He was the pride of the village now, but still remained the same lovable knucklehead.

Naruto bounded to his feet, "She's not in the village. Her chakra trail leads north, let's go Captain Yamato," and took to the tree tops heading in the direction of his teammate and friend.

Yamato followed, now that they had a trail, they'd find her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I caught all the spelling mistakes this time


	2. Kunoichi Found

It took the pair another two days of hard travel to come upon a fresher chakra trail. Naruto had never been so glad that he'd asked Shino to teach him to track by chakra and how to tell the age of the trail.

Yamato pulled them up short at the entrance to a box canyon. The wall were steep and there were a number of caves near the back. His ANBU and Root training kicking in. There were traps here and a lot of people. "Naruto, we need to proceed with caution here."

"Yeah there are a lot of chakra signatures here, and I can sense Sakura, her chakra is weak. Like she's injured or unconscious." Naruto tilted his head to one side and went quiet for a moment, like he was listening to an internal voice. Maybe he was, "We can go around the edge of the valley and then straight down, once we're in front of the caves. I should be able to tell which one she's in. I know that makes us more like sitting ducks, but we need to get to her. Fast. I can send shadow clones in from this way to be the diversion."

It was an imperfect plan, but the best they could come up with. Naruto created a bunch of shadow clones and had them hide while he and Yamato made their way around lip of the valley. Yamato quickly dispatched the lookouts guarding the canyon, while Naruto focused on finding the right cave from above. Scaling down the cliff face, the jinchuriki headed forwards, creeping just past the mouth of the cave. They were hidden amongst some boulders and crevasses. Naruto pointed to the cave on the left and Yamato used his wood style jutsu to block the other caves. The pair crept along the side of the cavern. Peering around the corner, they could see four men sitting around a smokeless campfire. Sakura was on the ground behind them unmoving, she was bound and gagged. She looked to be covered in cuts and bruises, in fact it took Yamato a bit to realize that her red dress was in a pile beside her, she had a torn blanket tossed over her. He cast a worried glance towards Naruto. He and Kurama had a good relationship and they hadn't worried about the Nine Tail going on a rampage, but they'd never been confronted by something like this.

Naruto clenched his teeth, nails that grown in length were now piercing the flesh on his hand. His chakra levels were rising even as he heard Kurama telling him to calm down. Sakura was injured and bleeding, possibly hurt in the worst way a woman could be hurt.

"Shhh, Naruto," there was a body holding him down and whispering harshly into his ear.

Yamato. Captain Yamato. His friend and senpai. Naruto ceased growling. When had he started that? Something else was going on and Yamato and Sakura needed him calm for now. Later when she was safe, he could rampage Kurama promised.

"Well genjutsu didn't work and neither did those drugs that brat Kineo bought."

"Yeah and the way she takes to pain, well maybe she likes it? Eh?" The talk around the campfire showed that Sakura hadn't let anything slip, but it also detailed the torture she'd already been through.

"Captain Yamato, senpai, we need to get her out of there soon. Her chakra levels are really weak. I know she can heal her own body of the physical injuries given time but her mind..."

The wood user nodded, this was getting bad. A quick glance outside assured him that the timing was right. Night was falling, it would be better to attack now when their escape could be masked somewhat by the shadows of the setting sun. He pointed to a narrow shelf of rock near the roofline of the cave and the two scrambled up to keep out of sight. "Start the diversion Naruto."

The explosion off to the left shook the entire valley. One man below went running through the cave to check on their comrades and report back, leaving only three on alert to guard their prisoner. After all it was a dead end. Yamato and Naruto ran ahead with Naruto creating one more clone. He headed towards Sakura. Leaving Captain Yamato and the clone to see to their safety. 

"Captain!" Naruto's yell had Yamato finishing off his opponent quickly before rushing to the pair. Watching from where he knelt beside Sakura, Yamato saw Kurama take over Naruto's body and go through the men and the couple who had returned when they realized that the explosion was a diversion. It was a testament to the strength of Naruto's fury that the shadow clones didn't disappear as well. The rogue ninjas were now stuck between a group of shadow clones, the walls of the cave and an angry but controlled Kurama. 

Yamato released the unconscious kunoichi from the bonds securing her to the ground. "Naruto, we need to leave now!" 

The man in front of him went flying into the rock wall as Naruto ran back to where Sakura still lay on the ground. With a gentleness that was missing not five seconds before, he wrapped her in the dirty blanket and cradled her in his arms. At the last minute he grabbed the torn dress and her kit. The three left the way they came in. Yamato stood on the ridge and used his wood style jutsu to create a wooden barrier, blocking the cave mouth. It wouldn't hold forever and there was a chance that one of the men inside could find a way to break out, but it would give them a chance to get away. Provided Naruto had actually left anyone alive.

"Captain Yamato," They were up in a tree not far from the camp, "not many of them were rogue ninjas, it looked like a group of about four who banded together with a bunch of regular bandits."

Yamato nodded, that had been his assessment as well. The chances of regular bandits following them was slim, the rogue ninja may or may not depending on how badly they wanted vengeance or what they were being paid for. "I'll keep an eye on out trail for anyone following us."

Naruto carefully pulled the blanket tighter around Sakura as his focus shifted. "I've got something better for her to wear, but I want to get her further away from here, and some place where we can wash her wounds."

The grimace on his face let Yamato know that Naruto was scared of what he might find. "Go, I'll follow and watch our backs."

They travelled quickly through the forest. Naruto cursing inwardly as they were still four days from home and the medical help she needed. Sakura had yet to wake up and he was starting to get a little worried. 'Kurama?' The concern he felt bled through and his inner demon understood that this was one of Naruto's precious people.

'I'm giving her some of my chakra, but I can't rush it brat. I have to be careful.' Kurama let Naruto know that because her chakra levels were so low at the moment, if he gave her too much he ran the risk of killing just as surely as if they would have left her there. She needed time to recover her chakra on her own.

Naruto closed his eyes and breathed a little easier. The fact that Kurama was helping her and that her breathing was even and steady against his neck let him continue, even if he knew that fox was hiding something more from him. It was full dark when they came across a small lake.

Getting a nod from Yamato, Naruto stopped. "I'm going to clean her up a bit," Naruto laid Sakura down on the ground. He rooted around in his pack and pulled out his spare clothes and a small box before he quickly stripped himself to a T-shirt and boxers. Leaving everything else with Yamato, he took the clean clothes, the jacket he'd been wearing, the box and a kunia with him, as he carried Sakura towards the water.

"I'll be close by Naruto if you need help." The nod he received showed that his message was heard and understood. Yamato would be watching for trouble, close enough to help but far enough to preserve Sakura's privacy.

Naruto ignored the tears streaming down his face as he carefully removed the blanket. He used his chakra to float Sakura just under the water while he used the soap he'd brought to clean her. He took his time trying to be as gentle but also as through as possible. He started at her feet and working his way up her legs, across her torso and down her arms. He cataloged each cut and bruise, noting that she'd been beaten and cut, multiple times and for a number of days going by the colouring of the bruises and the cuts on top of healing cuts. Kurama let him know that there was some internal bleeding and damage done by the multitude of drugs in her system. There was also nothing that Naruto could do to help her at the moment.

'She'll be okay until you get to the village Naruto, just keep doing what you're doing' Kurama purred. It was an unusual sound but one that brought Naruto a measure of comfort.

He carefully washed between her legs, not wanting to linger, scared of what he'd find. When the cloth came away with dried blood Naruto felt himself breakdown. Working so close together for so many years, he knew her cycle, and he feared that the bastards had raped her as a way to get her to talk. His final act before getting her out of the water was to wash her hair. Letting her float, he quickly dunked himself under the water and scrubbed up, screaming his anger under the water before gathering his friend back into his arms and carrying her back to the shore. He dried the injured kunoichi as best he could. Then he dressed her in his extra pair of sweats and t shirt, before he zipped up the jacket he had been wearing around her. He was just bundling up the wash cloth and blanket they'd found her in when Captain Yamato appeared from the trees, "I have an extra clean shirt and another cloak we can use instead."

Naruto shook his head as he fussed with the jacket, settling the collar high around her neck. "I'm hoping that the smell of the jacket will bring her comfort and bring her back." He angrily dashed away the tears that were still on his face. Getting dressed again he continued, "I remember Kiba telling me how when their animals are injured, they use an article of clothing from their owners to calm them down. I was thinking that Sakura and I have spent a lot of time together, often in close quarters, and that maybe my smell would be familiar."

"Naruto, you amaze me," Yamato watched as Naruto wrapped Sakura with a blanket from his bedroll, the rough genin exhibiting such tenderness. "You may think you're stupid and that the only thing you have to offer is your raw power, but you have picked up so much from your friends, you're always there for them and that is where your true strength lies. In your heart." The silence took over, "come on, if my memory is right there should be a cave not far from here that we can use for the rest of night. I'm going to grab some water before we go."

The cave Yamato was thinking about wasn't that far away, and as they were traveling fairly slowly, both shinobi were able to collect some herbs and vegetables to go into their hot pot for that night's meal. Yamato had even managed to catch a couple of fish from the lake while he was replenishing their water supply. The cave itself was deep but not damp and the smoke and smell from the food would travel further in and not give away their position to anyone following them. While their meal cooked, the two talked strategy. 

"I sent word ahead, that we found Sakura alive and were traveling slowly. I also gave directions to where we found her. Maybe someone will be able to get more information from them." Although Yamato knew he'd be going back to see what Intel he could gather when he had a moment.

"Anyone coming to meet us?"

Yamato shook his head, "I asked the Hokage to give her privacy for now, at least until we get her home and find out just what injuries she has sustained."

Naruto nodded, both of them looking over to where Sakura lay, when she started to thrash about. Naruto rushed over to hold her, trying to keep her from hurting herself further. "Shh, Sakura, it's okay, I've got you. It's me Naruto, please it's okay, your safe." He kept reassuring her with the sound of his voice.

Blue eyes slowly focused on her surrounding, as the sound of her best friend's voice got through her panic. Taking a deep breath she was overwhelmed with the smell of Naruto, that wild power, tinged with fresh grass. That more than anything allowed her body to sag against him. "N-N-Naruto," her voice was a stuttered whisper, "God no. They got you? How?"

"Relax Sakura, Captain Yamato and I got you out of there. You're safe now." He helped her sit up, placing her on his lap, running one hand up and down her back. "There's food here, if you're hungry?"

She nodded but didn't move. Was it really them? She'd been praying for Naruto to come and find her and here he was. Was it a trap? It smelled like Naruto, looked and sounded like him and Captain Yamato too. 'The food,' she thought wildly, maybe it was drugged.

Yamato passed her a small bowl of food, she shook her head even as her stomach growled. Naruto knew without words what the issue was, he took a couple of large bites and waited. Sure enough not more than five minutes later Yamato watched as she ate carefully and slowly, with Naruto's aid. "I know this will be hard, but I need to ask you some questions." 

Sakura nodded and looked over at her former team captain. Yamato had taken over for Kakashi as the leader of team seven. She trusted both of these men, but that didn't stop her from shaking like a leaf.

"When did they capture you Sakura? You've been missing about two weeks now. We need to know what they did to you as well as what you told them?"

Sakura knew this was coming, taking a deep breath she recounted what had happened. It was on the way home, when she'd noticed she was being followed. She tried to take a different path in order to loose them, and thought she had succeeded. They had ambushed her when she had been sleeping. There had been five ninja in the group of twenty bandits. One of them was exceptional at using genjutsu, and even though she could break it at anytime, she allowed them to trap her inside one. She had used her skills to guide the illusion where she wanted it to go. After two days when they hadn't been able to get the information they wanted, they tried using drugs. Being a medical ninja, Sakura had been able to negate most of the effects. They had spent the next days trying drug after drug, her body had been starting to feel the effects. She'd been allowed water and small amounts of food, and little sleep; she was physically and mentally exhausted when the bandits stepped up their game and started on physical beatings to get the information they wanted. While they had beaten her off and on the entire time she'd been held, the last two days were the more intense physical beatings, then Naruto and Yamato had gotten her out of there. "They asked questions about the security of the Hidden Leaf and how well the Hokage was guarded. I tried to give conflicting information, and generalities. Things they could find out easily on their own. Still, Captain Yamato, you need to warn Kakashi-Sensei and his security detail and change it up." Her voice rose as she started to panic, thinking that she may have put her former Sensei and the village she loved at risk.

"It's OK Sakura, I'll make sure that Kakashi is as safe as possible. Now how about your injuries, how badly are you hurt?" Yamato was impressed with his former teammate, she had done well.

"Nothing permanent or life threatening. I think. The worst is a couple of broken ribs, the rest is cuts and bruises. I just need time to let the cocktail of drugs run through my system." She wouldn't look at them, she didn't want them to see how dirty she really was. 

"All right then let's get those ribs taped up for now. We are three days from home at regular speed, you need to let us know just how much you can handle. Naruto help her sit up and steady her from behind, I'll wrap her ribs, then you should get some sleep. I'll take first watch." Yamato reached into his hip bag to pull out what medical supplies they had brought with them. He grabbed a large bandage designed for such injuries. Naruto used his hold on her to slid up his jacket, baring her mid-rift for Yamato's inspection. He ran his fingers over her ribs, searching for the ones that were causing her issues. Luckily they seemed to be cracked instead of broken, or at least they stayed where they were supposed to. Yamato noted that wrapping her torso in the brilliant white of the bandage only made the discolouration of her bruises stand out even more. His gaze sought hers, the quick nod letting him know that he had the right spot. "Too tight?"

Sakura shook her head, she was fast losing her strength. Never had she been more glad to see Naruto, he would keep her safe. She didn't even realize that her eyes were sliding closed as her body succumbed to exhaustion. 

At Yamato's nod, Naruto smoothed down his jacket and carefully laid her down on the his bedroll covering her against the night's chill.

"How can I help her Captain Yamato?" Naruto's voice shook, his emotions close to the surface.

Yamato didn't pretend to misunderstand. Naruto was worried about her mentally and physically. "The best thing you can do, Naruto, is to listen to her and be there. Let her know that she can talk to you and then leave it to her. Kakashi and Lady Tusande will talk to her too. She will have all the support she needs when she needs it. Have faith in her." He watched as Naruto brushed his hand over her head, pushing her pink hair away from her face. "Get some sleep Naruto."

The blonde ninja nodded and laid down beside his friend, using his thin emergency blanket to cover himself as he'd given his bedroll to Sakura. Yamato walked a perimeter and set a number of traps, simple things to give them enough notice to escape before settling himself near the mouth of the cave while leaving a wood clone in tree further outside. It was the middle of the night when he woke Naruto to switch places. The pair was just switching off when Sakura cried out in her sleep. The sound was muted as if she didn't want to be found. Naruto instinctively created a shadow clone, one who gathered her into his arms and murmured relaxing words into her hair. The original and Yamato watched as she quieted down. Naruto clasped the Captain on his shoulder, "I'll hold her like this, you go sleep."

Yamato nodded, released his clone, and lay down near enough to be of help to Sakura but leaving more space than Naruto had. Naruto watched Yamato leave at dawn the next morning with barely a nod. He stoked the flames and put a pot over the fire filled with herbs and vegetables that could simmer all day and not ruin. He pulled Sakura into his arms allowing his clone to disappear. He cried quietly to himself as the memories from his clone joined his. Sakura woke twice for short periods of time, he made sure she ate whatever she could.

Sitting in his arms, Sakura spoke, "Where's Captain Yamato," her voice broken.

"He's out scouting and making sure we're safe. Don't worry, I'll protect you. You just rest for now Sakura and eat what you can. Please."

She nodded as Naruto fed her the soup. Still to weak to do much, she leaned against him, her eyes slipping closed. "I always end up relying on you for everything don't I Naruto?"

"I don't mind Sakura, I'm here for you. Always, anything you need, anytime." He whispered into her hair, kissing the top of her head, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She nodded again, "I know."

The rest of the trip consisted of Naruto carrying Sakura on his back, her chakra still quite depleted and the dark circles under her eyes attesting to the lack of sleep. She flinched at sudden movements. Meals were mostly soups; nothing heavy, as she had trouble keeping anything down. It seems her tormentors had purposely kept her weak, depleting her energy reserves even more. Nighttime had Naruto taking first watch while Yamato took the second watch. In the quiet of the evening when Sakura slept without fear, the two men discussed the next day's plans. Naruto deferred to Yamato even more than before, taking advantage of his ANBU training to make sure they had all of their bases covered when came to covering their tracks and keeping Sakura safe. He kept a careful eye out, laying a false trail for any pursuers. Yamato looked on as every time Sakura cried out during the night Naruto was there, pulling her into his arms and giving her comfort the only way he knew how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I caught the spelling mistakes


	3. Back in the Village

They were close to the village now and Sakura had once again fallen asleep on his back. Naruto used his chakra to make sure she stayed put and didn't bounce around too much. He listened as she muttered in her sleep. She cried for help, asking someone to come and save her, begging them to stop. He knew that she had cried out in the silence of her mind, not allowing her captors to hear her pleas. Tears ran unchecked down his face, his heart breaking. He hoped that there would be a way for her to heal not only her body but also her mind. If Granny Tsunade could heal her body, maybe Ibiki would have a way to help heal her mind? Changing directions, he headed for the waterfall training grounds. Yamato merely followed. Naruto would explain himself soon enough. 

"I'm not taking her through the front gates like this. I'll stay here with her if you'll let Lady Tsunade and Hokage Kakashi know we're here." Naruto's voice was unusually quiet, but then Sakura was asleep on his back.

Yamato set up camp quickly, helping to lay Sakura on the bed rolls he'd spread out. Naruto watched Captain Yamato head out before lying down beside Sakura. "You're safe here. It's where I trained on my change of chakra nature. Do you remember? You'd made me all those food pills. They tasted bad, but they worked. You were always there to fix me up. You knocked sense into me time after time, sometimes literally. You never failed me Sakura. Please let me be there for you. I know Sasuke will come when he can. I sent word that we'd found you, and I'll be here until he is." Naruto wasn't sure if she heard him, but he kept talking anyway.

It was almost an hour before Lady Tsunade arrived with only a couple of ANBU guards. They immediately took to the perimeter. "Naruto, if you could give me some privacy to examine Sakura."

Naruto got up and went over to the waterfall. He quickly dove in before sitting on the edge and going over everything that happened. All the conversations on the trip with Yamato. He knew the love he had for Sakura was different than the love she and Sasuke had for each other. The ongoing comment about her being his girlfriend were made more out of habit now. Washing her body to check for injuries, holding Sakura these last few night were more for her comfort. She didn't make his body react the way Hinata did. Was he in love with the Hyuga princess? How would that work? Sure his dad had been the fourth Hokage but he was a nobody. Hinata had proclaimed her love for him before, but what did that mean? Right now he should be focusing on Sakura. Shaking his head Naruto focused on replenishing his chakra in order to watch over his teammate when she was so weak. He didn't know if Granny Tsunade would want to move her to the hospital or if he could sneak her into town unseen. If he did where could he take her so she would be safe? If she went home, her parents would know what had happened. They weren't bad people, in fact they were really loving and kind, but that might be too much for her to handle just yet. He could take her to his place, that would work. Naruto created two clones and sent them to his place to clean it up some and make it sure that nothing had been touched.

"Naruto, come here." Lady Tsunade called out. 

He got to his feet and walked back to where she was sitting beside Sakura. "How bad is she?" Naruto barely looked at the former Hokage, instead focusing on his friend who looked to be sleeping.

"I'm not going to sugar coat this. She's in bad shape. Three broken ribs, internal injuries, a mixture of deadly drugs running through her system, and severe chakra depletion. Everything can be healed but it will take time. I'd like her on bed rest for at least a week. Yamato told me you were the one to clean her up, so I'm sure you already figured it out. It looks like she was raped multiple times. Unfortunately that's not all that unusual when a kunoichi is abducted. I gave her something to ensure there is no child. It won't hinder her ability to have kids in future but for right now-" Tsunade brushed the pink hair back off Sakura's forehead. Her student was so strong, but right now she looked oh so broken.

"What about her mind?"

Naruto's question shocked her into looking at him, he'd grown and matured so much since she'd first met him with Jiraya. "Her mind.."

"Is there someone she can talk to, someone who could help her with the nightmares and flashbacks she's having? I was thinking about Ibiki because he knows how to take a mind apart when he's looking for information; that maybe he'd know how to put one back together."

Tsuande shook her head at his insight. Sometimes he said the most insightful things, just to turn around and ask stupid questions. "Naruto don't ever change." Letting a smile flit across her face she took a deep breath and continued, "Ibiki's not the right person for that, but I will find someone who can help. The question right now is where can she stay? If I put her in the hospital, she'll heal physically but she's not going to get any sleep and she'll likely be bombarded with visitors. Her parents could look after her, but they might go in the wrong direction and coddle her too much. I know how hard it was for them to let go when she moved out of the house. As for her apartment? Well, she needs someone to help her, and I don't want her alone especially if she's having flashback like you say."

"I sent a couple of clones to go tidy up my apartment. She can stay with me for as long as she needs to, unless you think it'd be better at her apartment. Either way I can help watch over her."

The medical kunoichi watched as Naruto held Sakura's hand, brushing his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. "What about Sasuke and Hinata and the rest of your friends?"

"I sent Sasuke two messages, one when we found out that Sakura was missing and another when I found her alive. He'll make his way back here as soon as he can. As for Hinata and the rest of the gang. I'll let them visit Sakura when she wants company but I won't force anything on her. I'll talk to them myself when I get her settled. Her safety and health is the most important thing right now." Sakura started to moan and thrash around. Naruto ran his hand up and down her arm. The moans turning to whimpers, her body wrapping itself around his arm. 

"In that case it might be better if you take her to your place. I'll let your friends and her parents know that she's safe and to give the two of you some space. I'll come and check on her daily and we'll get someone you both trust to help so you don't wear yourself down as well." Tsuande knew that the Hokage had been dealing with a traitor within the village who had been selling mission scroll. That Lee and TenTen having been ambushed last month and Sakura captured now would have Kakashi looking to protect the village on the inside as well as from outside forces. Naruto's apartment was possibly the best suggestion.

Naruto stiffened, his body going still for only a split second letting her know that most likely his clones had disappeared. 

He sighed heavily, "I ran into Shikamaru just before I left with Captain Yamato. I told him, Temari and Hinata that I was going off to train." His head bowed as he thought of how he'd lied to his friends, right to their faces. It didn't matter if it was for a good reason, he had lied to his friends. "I guess Shikamaru didn't really believe me and he put my apartment under watch. He just cornered one of the clones. I told him only that Sakura is alive and will need time and a safe place to heal. He likely suspects something but said only that he'd organize the rest of the group so that they would take turns watching over us from outside until the time was right for them to do more. It's not like we really need protection, but I think it might a good idea for them to be there in case I need to get her some help. He was going to get some ramen for us and stock the fridge too. I asked him to keep the guarding group to him, Shino, Sai, and Kiba. The fewer the better."

"Why those four? Can you explain your reasoning?" she knew why she would chose them, but she wanted to see what his reasoning was. Not just for Sakura's sake but also as future Hokage, she needed to know how he thought and what his reasons were behind his actions.

"Well, Shino and Shika are the two smartest in the group. They'd figure things out on their own and I'd need their help with keeping Sakura feeling safe, I know I'd miss something. Plus Shino's bugs are awesome for keeping an eye on chakra levels. Kiba's nose is the best in the village and he'd smell Sakurta on me and call me on it, so I'd rather bring him in from the start, and have him and Akamaru checking for strangers around my apartment. Sai is part of team 7 and deserves to know, plus he might be another male Sakura can lean on while she's healing. I mean, I know that she's going to be leery of men for a bit, but I'm hoping that if the guys start coming around slowly, she can start trusting them again at least."

"Your reasoning is sound, Naruto. It looks like you've thought most things through. What about Sasuke and the girls?"

He shrugged, "Sasuke will be up to her, I will not allow anyone, me included, to push her where she's not ready. No one from our group will hear what she went through from anyone but her. As for the girls well she's going to need their support and help. But you know, Sakura and I have a panic word for a reason, granted it was mostly for me when I was overwhelmed by people who thought I was nothing more than a nuisance I'll wait until dusk to take her back to the village."

"Alright, I'll talk to Kakashi, and he can talk to Shikamaru and the other three after I make my report with Yamato. Kakashi will most likely agree as this makes the most sense. I will leave a summoning scroll for Katsuyu in case you need emergency medical treatment."

"Granny?" Naruto took the scroll and squirreled away in his waist pack. 

Tsunade looked over at the boy who was more of a man now, and raised an eyebrow.

"How many people need to know the full story?"

She watched Naruto brush back Sakura's hair like she had done only minutes before. "Not many, the Hokage, Ibiki and whoever he has in on the questioning, and whichever councilors she sees. I'll try to keep it quiet but it also depends on her."

Sakura was starting to get restless, her movements erratic and jerky. "I know it's not a point of shame, but it's also not scar of honor. It'll be something she'll want to hide for a while. I just don't want our friends to treat differently because of everything. If some of them figure she's having problems because of being captured that's one thing, but they'll look at her differently because of the word rape." Slowly, without disturbing the grip she had on his arm, Naruto laid down and pulled Sakura into his embrace. She calmed down completely, as if being surround by the blonde powerhouse made her feel safe and kept the demons at bay. 

"I'm going now and I'm taking Yamato with me, however, I'm going to leave the ANBU guards here to watch over you and help make sure that you both get home safe. They will watch over you tonight so you can both rest without worries." The former Hokage watched the young pair with tears in her eyes. She would do anything to have kept her student safe from this. The fact that she felt safe in the arms of Naruto went to prove the trust these two had built over the years. Walking away Tsunade let the tears fall once she was a safe distance away. Would there ever be a time when things would go easy for them.

Naruto didn't really let down his guard until he got Sakura inside his apartment and in his bed. Covering her with a light blanket he went and checked out the rest of the apartment. Shino had left some of his bugs to act as an early warning sign for intruders and Sai's ink mice were evident. Shikamaru had left the food he said he would and traps on the windows. He could see the Nara lounging on the roof across the way. He bet if he had a better sense of smell he'd recognize Kiba's scent around the apartment. Their friends had really come through for them. Sitting at the table to eat the ramen left for him, there was a knock on his kitchen window he realized that he'd been waiting for. Kakashi. Acknowledging his former sensei as he climbed inside, Naruto went right back to eating. The Hokage slipped quietly into the bedroom to look in on Sakura.

"Lady Tsunade talked to me already." The masked Hokage walked back into the kitchen. He was shaken by the report of the injuries Sakura had suffered and needed to reassure himself that both of his former student were still alive. Naturo's posture was almost defeated, but as he leaned against the kitchen wall he could see the blonde giving himself a shake. "Shino, Shikamaru, Sai or Kiba will be close by if you need help. I've made it an S class mission with only myself and Yamato in the know. Sort of a relay team where one of them can go get more help." He didn't want to explain about the recent attacks on some of the other shinobi inside the village. Not yet anyway. "I have the names of three jonin who specialize in dealing with after mission traumas. Sakura can choose one of them to go talk to without fear of gossip. I would recommend that you choose one as well to talk to."

Naruto took the paper and pinned it to his fridge. While he was up, he put his dishes in the sink and grabbed two glasses of water, passing one to Kakashi, he sat to drink the other one, wishing now that he liked the taste of alcohol. He didn't even notice when the tears started to flow down his face. "I feel so helpless, I want to help but I feel so clumsy. I mean even more than I normally am."

"Naruto, you're here. You didn't give up on her and you never will. Just follow your heart, talk to the jonin on the list I gave you and listen to Sakura. It will never be the same again, but it will eventually be okay. This is a major life change and not something that will heal quickly. Treat it like you did after coming back from the war or Sasuke's return. It needs to be taken slowly, but not too slowly."

Naruto smiled at the silver haired copy nin, "Right. Slow but not too slow. Talk. Listen. Follow my heart." He shook his head and gave a small laugh, "man I am so dead."

Kakashi laughed with him, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair like he used to do, "ask for help when you need it Naruto. You're not alone."

"Thanks Kakashi-Sensei." 

Naruto waited until the Hokage left before giving in to his exhaustion. Walking quietly into his room he grabbed out a pair of sleep pants, noting that Sakura seemed to be sleeping quietly, and slipped into the bathroom. A long hot shower was just what he needed. He rubbed lotion in the stump of his arm. He really didn't want to put the prosthetic back on but maybe for the next couple of days and nights he should. His body relaxed, Naruto went an laid down on his couch, pulling the afghan that Hinata had made him for his 18th birthday around him, and tried to sleep. 

The scream woke him immediately, and had him bounding into his bedroom, kunai in hand. Sakura was fighting off some invisible enemy, kicking at the blankets and trying to get free. Kiba was in the window immediately as Naruto dropped the kunai knife he'd held onto his bedside table before diving for his friend on the bed. Wrapping Sakura in his arms he held her tight, avoiding the majority of the blows she was throwing. 

"Naruto, need a hand," Kiba's voice steady even as his emotions tried to take control.

Naruto shook his head at the quiet question. "Not yet. Sakura, Sakura." Naruto kept his voice as steady as he could, "It's Naruto. Your safe, I have you. Sakura please; you're going to hurt yourself further."

His voice seemed to penetrate her shattered mind, as the injured kunoichi slowed her punches. "Nar-Naruto," her voice was so shaky and quiet that he had to strain to hear it. "They got you too?" She panicked at seeing her friend, Naruto was supposed to be safe, he was going to come and get her out of here, not get captured too.

"No Sakura, you're safe. We got you out of there. You're in Konoha, at my apartment."

"I'm scared, I keep seeing them."

Kiba sat down outside the bedroom window at her confession, glad he'd stayed out of her line of sight. His heart breaking for his friends. Moving quietly he went back to his position on the roof, not wanting to intruded anymore then necessary. 

"Sakura, I'm here, and your safe. We have friends watching the apartment. Come on. Lady Tsunade doesn't want you to take a bath just yet, but maybe a quick shower? Shikamaru brought us some ramen from Ichiraku and I can make you some tea." He was slowly pulling her to her feet. Guiding her into the kitchen he turned on the light over the stove casting a soft glow in the room as he sat her down at the table. He went back to the living room to get the blanket he'd been using and put it over her shoulders. Heating up the ramen, he set it before her, while he put water on to boil and then disappeared back to his room. He quickly changed the sheets on his bed and pulled out another t shirt and a pair of sleep pants that were too small for him. Going back to the kitchen he watched Sakura eat. Making sure that his footsteps were heard he walked around the table and made the tea.

"Lady Tsunade looked at you earlier and did what she could for your ribs and the internal bleeding you had. She said she didn't want to heal everything in one go. Right now your main health concern is the drugs in your system and your chakra levels. Time is all that is needed for that. We're both off for the next week maybe longer if we need it, so I brought you here to help you where I could. Kakashi came by for a short time and looked in on you but didn't stay long. He left a couple of names of jonin we should talk to." Naruto held his tea cup in both hands. "These jonin specialize in dealing with our mental health."

Sakura nodded, "Okay, so when do we meet with them?" She looked ready to go.

"We'll definitely not now, it's like 3 am. Let's get you into bed and we can go over this again whenever you wake up. I just wanted to make sure that you knew you were safe and healing. Our friends are watching over us as an added bonus. Come on let's get you back into bed. Do you want a shower or to change clothes?" She shook her head as Naruto gathered her dishes and put them in the sink, before escorting her from the chair and back to the freshly made bed. He helped her lay down and covered her with a blanket before turning to leave. 

Sakura reached out and snagged his wrist, "N-Naruto, could you please...hold me?"

Naruto nodded and lay on top of the blankets and pulled her into his embrace. "I'll be here whenever you need me, Sakura. Sleep now." 

He spent the next 24 hours watching over her as she slept, refusing to go much further than the kitchen for some more tea, before sitting beside her on the bed, holding her when she asked, trying his best to help Sakura keep the nightmares away. Dawn broke on day three of their return and Naruto had to move. Sleeping in the chair he'd brought into his bedroom was killing his back and he had to take off his prosthetic to give his arm a rest. Smiling to himself he got up, grabbed some fresh clothes and headed for a quick shower. Dressed and in the kitchen, he was making tea and toast when Sakura came in. She was still wearing the clothes she had slept in; his old sweatpants, T-shirt and his jacket. Still cold she had wrapped herself in a blanket, her eyes were wary. "I have tea on and I'm making toast if you want any?"

"Yes please." the timid voice from Sakura suited Hinata better than it did her. 

He left her in the kitchen with her food and went to sit in the living room, picking up the book he'd started before he'd left. He let Sakura set the pace as to whether she wanted to join him or go back to bed. The knock on the door and the flare of chakra let them know who was visiting. Lady Tsunade and Sakura's mother.

"Are you ready for them Sakura?" Naruto's tone let her know that if she didn't want to see them, Naruto would block them.

"Yes, it's ok."

"Sakura if at any time you want them to go just use our code word, and I'll get them out. If you want me to leave, just say the word and I'll head to the rooftop. I'll give you any privacy you want but I won't leave you completely alone. At least not until you're ready ok?" He was at the door ready to open it, but awaiting her response. At her nod, he let the women inside.

"Lady Tsunade, Haruno-san please come in. Would you like some tea?" Naruto lead the women into the kitchen where Sakura still sat wrapped in the blanket.

"Oh Sakura dear.." Her mother broke into tears and rushed to embrace her daughter, while Tsunade pulled Naruto aside.

"Sai is waiting outside to take you to the hospital for a check up. Captain Yamato submitted your mission report the other night, so that is done. Go do what you need to. I need to examine Sakura again and I won't let her mother tire her out too much."

Naruto nodded, "Ok I'll be back as soon as I can and wait on the rooftop until you call me. If she asks for pickles or offers them, it's our code for being overwhelmed. Please listen for that Granny Tsunade." He headed over to Sakura's side and knelt beside her to get her attention. "Granny wants me to go get checked out at the hospital, so she and your mom will be here while I'm gone. Shikamaru is just outside too if you need him. Okay? I'll be back soon I promise."

Sakura's face was tear streaked and pale, but she straightened her shoulders and gave a nod.

At the base of his building he meet Sai and Shikamaru. Shikamaru was leaning against the wall a cigarette dangling from his lips, looking like the laziest man in the world. "Shika, can you stay here and pay attention in case she panics?"

"Of course, your code word still pickles?" Shikamaru looked his friend over, he noted every bruise every cut he could see, the physical wounds seemed to be minor. Naruto always did heal fast. What troubled him more was the look of defeat in his friend's eyes, and the report from Kiba of Sakura's screams in the night. "We'll get through this, Naruto. Don't worry, we're all here for you and Sakura, just let us know when and how we can help, okay?"

"Come on my friend, let's get you checked out and then you can come back here." Sai lead Naruto down to the street where they walked to the hospital. 

The check up didn't take long, back at his apartment he went straight for the roof with Sai and Shikamaru. The three of them just sat. Shikamaru was lying back one foot over the other knee and hands behind his head. "Things are going okay down there. It seems like Sakura's wounds are healing well and her Chakra is replenishing at a slow but steady rate. I'm guessing you and Kumara have something to do with that?" Shikamaru tilted head enough to see the blonde shrug his shoulders. "Her mother seems to be handling things fairly well, at least the tears have stopped. I'm thinking you have about an hour before they both leave."

"What's your plan Naruto?" Sai was still unsure when it came to expressing his feelings, but Sakura was one of his teammates and he'd do whatever he could to help her.

"I plan on leaving it to her. So far she's been asleep for most of our travel. She's been waking up at random times but that's only to eat a move a bit. Today is the first day she seemed to want to move further then the kitchen table, we haven't really spoken much. Yamato got some the details of what had happened and I know she's going to have to go to T&I to go over what she had let slip during her capture, but I think Granny wants to wait until her body heals a little more, we'll probably be called in tomorrow or the day after."

Sai nodded, "that will likely cause a set back with her nightmares and fears."

Naruto sighed and fell back, "I know and Sasuke sent a message, it'll be a while before he's able to return. He's still too far away."

"That may be a good thing Naruto," Shikamaru voiced what he feared. He didn't quite trust Sasuke. Yes; he'd been doing his best to atone for his misdeeds since the war had ended, but the man still had a temper. Sakura and Naruto both had a blind spot where the Uchiha was concerned and the shadow user would do anything to protect his friends here.

"Shikamaru, what does the rest of the group know for sure?" Naruto wanted to know just what he needed to prepare Sakura for. 

"Well we, and I mean the nine of us, know that Sakura was two weeks late in returning when you and Captain Yamato went after her. We know that she was captured and that she is injured. We don't know how bad a shape she was in when you found her and no one but Sai, Shino, Kiba and myself know that she is here or about the night terrors and flashbacks that are plaguing her. I've asked the rest of the gang to not ask questions and not to go looking for either of you just yet. Right now they're all willing to go with it as they all know you're both in the village and safe. I figure it'll be at least a week before Sakura is ready to get up and moving. After that well we'll reevaluate and see what we need to do."

"Yeah that seems right." Naruto sighed, "I think I can tell you that her injuries are healing, she had some broken ribs and internal bleeding. They had pumped with a number of different drugs and her chakra was dangerously low. The rest is, well- she was taken while she was sleeping. I know she has flashbacks. I'm going to make sure she talks to someone. I think I need to as well, at least Kakashi and Granny keep mentioning it for me." He took a breath and stared a the sky. "Honestly there are times I think all of us should be seeing someone for our nightmares. Some of the missions we've been on..." 

Sai looked over at his teammate without a word. Shikamaru nodded, maybe he'd talk to Kakashi about implementing a monitoring system for those shinobi who need counseling without it effecting their standing, unless they became dangerous of course. That would mean more than three councilors, but the added cost would likely be worth it.

"Naruto," Lady Tsunade called out the window for him.

Naruto gave Sai and Shikamaru a quick salute before jumping on to the balcony and walking into his apartment. The two men remained sitting on the rooftop, "I'll take watch." Sai commented.

Shikamaru nodded, "I'll go back with Lady Tsunade, just call if you need anything otherwise I'll be back tomorrow."

Inside Naruto heard the water run in the bathroom, Lady Tsunade stood in his kitchen, putting together a meal.

"Granny," Naruto's tentative approach was more telling then anything else. A quick glance showed that Sakura's mother had left already.

"She's taking a bath right now. Her mother left her with a bag of her things so she wanted to wear her own clothes, but to still stay here. Her mother tried to convince her to go back home, but I told her to stay here. She didn't fight it much, and her mother didn't argue the point. You went to the clinic right?"

He nodded, "nothing to worry about, just to get some rest."

She nodded, that was about what she expected, "Tomorrow she has a meeting with Ibiki, I can't give her any more time. That will likely mean that the nightmares and flashbacks will continue and possibly even get worse. I'm leaving a bottle of sleeping pills in case she needs them, one a night with food, but for no more than five days in a row without telling me." She found his dishes and plated three servings. Setting one in front of Naruto, she sat across from him, leaving one plate on the counter covered with a lid to keep it warm. "I was with the Hokage when Yamato gave his report. Including how you managed to convince the village elder that the information you needed was for a village audit and thus kept everyone calm. Plus the way you cared for Sakura on the way home. The fact that you thought to keep the clothing she had been wearing when you found her for tracking purposes was great, and is being put to use. Even better was the way you used the scent from your jacket to help calm her. I know you credited Kiba with teaching you that, but the fact that you tried was amazing." She watched Naruto blush. "You will make an excellent Hokage, Naruto. You listen to your friends and learn from them. You're willing to adapt and put yourself in dangerous situations to help. You lead by example and aren't afraid to ask for help. I'm so proud of you and I know that Jiraya would be too." She ignored the tears in his eyes, Yamato had explained how he had been doubting himself and his intelligence. 

She looked at him with a more crucial eye. He was still headstrong and a little reckless, even with the power of the Sage of the Six Path and the other tailed beasts inside of him. He was strong but not invincible. He had matured. Sure he'd never match Shikamaru or Shino, hell she figured even Kiba and Choji had higher test scores. However, Naruto had a different kind of intelligence, more intuitive. He continued to learn from his friends all the while he surrounded himself with those that had their own areas of strength, ones that complimented him. 

She still wished he'd had more faith in the mentors around him. She knew how close Jiraya had been to Minato and Kushina, the fact that he was actually Naruto's godfather was known only to her now. Jiraya had only been asked a day or two before the fourth Hokage and his wife had died. Her fellow Sanin had only told her once after she confessed that she believed Naruto to be a distant cousin of her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki. However both revelations had remained between them. Jiraya for feeling like he had failed to watch over and care for Naruto the way Minato would have wanted and Tsuande for fear of putting Naruto at more risk. Maybe they were both wrong, but would it be right to let him know now? She still wasn't sure. NO! Right now Naruto needed to focus on Sakura, there'd be time for her to explain later. Looking out the window she sighed, even if she never worked up the courage, the letter Jiraya had left in her care and her own will would explain things and hopefully he would forgive them both. 

The two sat in silence, eating their meal. Naruto needed time to fully understand everything Granny had told him about Sakura's condition. The door to the bathroom opened and Sakura walked down the hall towards them. Naruto seemed oblivious to anything around him. 

"Come and eat, I think it's passable, although Naruto is a better cook." The blonde looked up at his name being mentioned.

"Hmm. What'd I miss?"

"Nothing, Lady Tsunade was just saying that you're a better cook." the pinkette teased.

"Well yeah, but I generally save that for missions, when I can forage for food, cooking for one is no fun. Besides you know that Sakura, after all I'm the one who did all the cooking on our missions with squad seven."

Saskura laughed and the sound brought joy to the hearts of the other two, letting them see that healing was possible. "Yeah, I know, it's just refreshing to see that others know some of your secrets Naruto." Sakura pulled the cover off the plate that had been left for her and sat down beside her best friend. She took a deep breath and set her shoulders as if bracing for a fight. "So what's on the agenda for the next little bit."

Tsunade relayed the plans that had been made for Sakura to talk to Ibiki in the morning and what that might mean for her. Captain Yamato was going to escort them there. She motioned to the bottle of pills she'd left in case of panic attacks, and the two younger shinobi listened and nodded. Leaving the pair she headed straight for the Hokage's office with Shikamaru as escort. Yamato, and Gai were with the Hokage when she arrived. The room hadn't changed much since she left office. There were still the large stacks of books and files to be signed. The biggest change since Kakashi took over, a desk off to the side for Gai and a large pile of cushions on the floor in a far corner for when he summoned his ninja hounds.

"How'd it go?" Kakashi voice revealed the concern he couldn't hide.

"Sakura is healing fine physically, it will be slow going for a while and due to the extent of her injuries I recommend she be taken off the active duty rooster. However, it isn't just the physical damage that concerns me, her chakra is still too low for my peace of mind, which only goes to prove how low it was to begin with. If it wasn't for Naruto and Kurama sharing their chakra to give her a boost I don't think she'd have survived the journey home. It's how she's handling things emotionally that I'm really worried about." Tsunade took a deep breathe and her shoulders slumped a bit.

"Shikamaru, can I get you to step outside for a bit please. I know these are your friends but can you give us twenty minutes." Yamato knew what Tsunade was going to bring up and even though they could use Shikamaru's insight, he was first Sakura's friend.

The Nara looked at the Hokage and when Kakashi nodded, he walked out of the office and outside. Something else had happened to Sakura and Naruto that Yamato and Lady Tsunade were trying to hide. NO, hide was the wrong word, they were trying to protect the pair. Shoving his hands in his pockets he headed towards the Main Street to think. What the hell had happened out there. Maybe he'd talk to Kiba again and see if he had any insights.

Inside the Hokage's office, Kakashi looked over at his friend, the one he had trusted to take over his team. "What didn't you want said in front of Shikamaru?"

Tsuande spoke up, "Besides the torture and the drugs, Sakura had been raped. Multiple times from the look of it." She clenched her fist, wanting to hit something. "So far the only thing that seems to help is Naruto, on top of that she'll have to go see Ibiki tomorrow." Tsunade was tired; she had seen two ninja wars and watched as these youth fought not only for their future but for their very right to exist. Sakura was her student, and there wasn't much more that she could do for her no matter how much she wanted too.

"My god." Gai's quiet cry reflected the fear every shinobi held. Capture and torture was always in the back of their mind whenever they were on a mission, but sexual assault, just how did one get passed that.

"The enemy?" Kakashi's grey eyes were stone cold and demanded retribution. Rape hadn't been in Yamato's report, but he'd deal with that later.

Yamato grimaced, "Naruto kinda lost it when he saw the state Sakura was in, as I stated in my report, he didn't leave anyone alive. Or Kurama didn't, I don't know for sure which one was in charge at the time. I went back the next morning to check and there were no survivors or signs that any had escaped."

Kakashi shook his head, "does he know that?"

"I'm not sure, which leads me to believe that either Kurama is protecting him, or he's ok with it at the minute." They all knew that Naruto wasn't the type to needless take another's life.

Tsunade sighed, and Kakashi watched as the last of the legendary Sanin leaned against the window overlooking the village. "She's been examined and will be tested for the next couple of months to guard against disease. There will be NO pregnancy from this."

"So the main issue is her mental health, Saskue's reaction, and how their relationship will hold, am I reading you right?"

Tsunade nodded. Kakashi rested his head in his hands, Yamato and Gai stood quietly, everyone reflecting on what this new information meant. "Naruto wants to keep this as quiet as possible at the moment, that's why I asked Shikamaru to leave." Yamato explained.

"He'll likely figure it out. Hell it's possible they all will. However, it's also probable especially with this group that they won't give a damn. But you were right, now we need to focus on Sakura and what she needs to get well. That doesn't include being ing the center of attention. We can do that."

A knock on the door had Shikamaru coming back in.

"Sorry Shikamaru," Yamato apologized.

"No worries," he had spent the time going over possible reasons for them to ask him to leave and he didn't like the scenarios he kept coming up with, "look I understand that Sakura and Naruto went through some serious shit and that you're trying to protect them. I get that. I'm not going to pry. What I ask is that you remember that I'm your strategist." Shikamaru tried not to sound too cocky, "I know that Naruto and Sakura are my friends and you might be concerned that I can't separate my feelings. I admit, that may be an issue, however I will always do what is best for the village." He looked over at the Hokage a man he had fought beside when seeking revenge for Asume, and to protect Naruto. At Kakashi's nod he continued, "while I was out walking around I talked to Kiba, he's had night duty these last couple of days as has noticed a couple of things that may be of concern. The biggest is Sakura's reliance on Naruto?" Shikamaru's observation caused a stillness in the office. While many had been surprised by the way Sakura leaned on the powerhouse, Shikamaru wasn't. Naruto always went the extra mile for his friends, often putting himself in danger to do so. "It's not that there's a problem with it, I mean- I understand it. It's just I worry about him..." He stopped not sure how to say what he really feared.

"Spit it out Shikamaru." Yamato spoke up.

"Well To be blunt, considering the way Naruto is, he'd let Sakura stay forever if she asked and never think anything about it. Letting things remain the way they are now. While I know that there is nothing going on between the two of them, if this keeps up for much longer it's going to adversely affect the four of them, which in turn, will screw up the dynamics of our entire group." Rubbing the back of his neck, Shikamaru sighed, that came out more selfishly then he wanted it to. 

"Four of them?" Gai was confused he did mean Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Sai? They'd already talked about Sasuke while Shikamaru was gone, but..

"I get you," Kakashi looked to the ceiling, "Sasuke will be back soon. We know Naruto sent him a message and you're worried how he will take Sakura and Naruto essentially living, and from what I've heard, sleeping together. Although to be honest, the one who will most likely take it the wrong way the is Hinata."

Gai nodded, "Sasuke sent word that he'd be another week. Hinata, needs to take hold of her youth and walk forward bravely."

Shikamaru shook his head, he'd never get used to Gai and his enthusiasm.

Tsunade interrupted everyone's internal dialogue, "I understand the concerns, but I think right now to facilitate her healing; Sakura needs Naruto. She feels safe with him and that feeling will allow her heal faster than if we had her admitted to the hospital. Even with Kurama slowly helping her chakra levels. I say we allow her a week and see how she is. Naruto has been very forthcoming with me as to how Sakura's been acting and just what she has been asking of him, however uncomfortable it makes him. He is worried about her too, although he hasn't labeled it as dependence. I think he'll open up to one of you four if he wants a male perspective." The group nodded their agreement.

Kakashi knew where she was going and their concerns were the same. "What I'd like to make sure of, " he interjected, "is that she doesn't pull away from her friends. Shikamaru, I'd like to leave that to you and Kiba. I'd also suggest Shino or Sai, it'll push them out of their comfort zones, but I think they'd willingly do so to help." Kakashi watched the young strategist nod.

 

"If we have Naruto invite your friends over, for short visits, an hour or so; around meal time, that should eliminate some of the awkwardness Sakura's bound to feel." Yamato spoke up, he knew where Kakashi wanted to go with this.

Shikamaru thought it over. If Sakura needed Naruto to feel 'safe' and if Kakashi thought she'd feel awkward around the group, he was positive he knew the reasoning behind it. He really didn't like the answer he came up with. "If that's the case, I'd like to start with the four of us who will be on guard duty, as we can see how she interacts with Naruto. Ino would be my second choice as they've been friends forever. It might not be a bad idea for Naruto to use these visits, especially with the girls to take a break and get away from Sakura. Maybe not for the first one, but later." Shikamaru knew that giving Naruto a break would also be helpful. "If we include a visit from Captain Yamato, Lady Tsuande or even you, Hokage Kakashi, that gives her someone who she trusts implicitly and Naruto a chance to get some time to himself."

Kakashi nodded, Naruto had spent the last seventeen years pretty much alone when he was home, for him to all of a sudden be living with someone 24/7 was going to put him under a huge strain. "Shikamaru I think maybe we should start right away with you and Shino going in to visit and spend time with them, even if it's to play a game or eat, get Sakura used to trusting you two. I'm going to have to send Sai on a mission here and Kiba may be just too energetic. Naruto's going to start chomping at the bit here soon, he's not used to having someone in his space so much. Gai, can you go and talk to Iruka and have him meet Naruto at Ichiraku, that will give him an hour or so out of the apartment." Gai left immediately. "Shikamaru am I correct in assuming that so far Sakura only really has issues at night?" 

"Not really, she's been waking maybe three or four times a night, usually screaming. During the day she takes combat naps, jumps at sudden noises and shadows, its like she's expecting an attack at any time. Naruto has taken to stomping around his own apartment, humming, talking anything at all to let her know where he is. So far that's working. She's also wearing Naruto's jacket like a security blanket. When she's awake she mostly sits around and reads. Naruto has moved furniture so the chair she uses is in a corner with her back to the wall and she can see anyone approaching. He's even brought her a number of medical scrolls from her apartment for her to study, since the knucklehead doesn't read much. He's made mention of taking her out to the training grounds and let her work out. You're right- he's not used to sitting around so much. Right now he's content because he knows that Sakura still needs some time to heal physically." Shikamaru moved to look out the window. Naruto considered himself stupid, but in reality he always seemed to understand a person at their core. "I don't think Naruto will have issues with Sakura being in his space for awhile, and when Sasuke comes I think he'll just move in there too. I mean that is where he stays when he's in the village for more than a night anyway. Naruto's set Sasuke up in the other bedroom."


	4. Broken

Naruto returned home after a good visit with Iruka. Both Iruka and Shikamaru had encouraged him to take the day for himself. Yamato was with Sakura, and he could go do some training. He spent the last hour training by himself, at least that's what he told Shikamaru. In reality he spent the last hour beating the pulp out of a tree and screaming at the unfairness of it all. Next time he'd have to grab Lee for some taijutsu training. Still it was nice to get out of the apartment, but he needed to be back before too long. Sakura was still too jumpy for her to trust Shikamaru and Shino for long. Sakura would need him during the night, when the nightmares got too much for her. Jumping onto the roof across from his apartment he checked to see how Sakura was doing. Yamato was with her. Naruto had a couple of minutes respite. He wanted to clear his mind and calm down before going back inside. Satisfied that one of his best friends was alright, he sat back and watched the clouds pass by, trying to calm his temper. Man he knew Shikamaru loved this, but hour after hour? Nah, not his thing. He'd rather be training, or eating ramen. Right now, however, Sakura needed him, the gang was helping to keep them safe- but in doing so they were pretty much off the duty roster, Sasuke was coming home at the end of the week, and he just wasn't sure how to solve all these problems. Naruto scrubbed his hands over his face. Sometime he just wished he could just...

"Naruto, is everything alright?" the quiet voice was a welcome interruption to his melancholy.

"Yeah, I'm good" Naruto indicated for Shino to take a seat for a bit, they watched as Yamato and Sakura played shoji . "What time are we to go see Ibiki tomorrow? Do you know?"

"I believe Sakura is expected at 9 am although I'm not sure if you're expected at all."

"I'll go with her anyway and wait until she's done." Standing up and brushing the seat of his pants. 

"She didn't want either Shikamaru or myself in the apartment so Captain Yamato stayed with her."

Naruto let out a heavy sigh. "Thank you Shino, for everything. I'm sorry this is taking you away from your time with Hana." He watched the sun lower in the sky. Evening was setting in, going inside he said goodbye to Captain Yamato and watched the man head home. 

"You hungry, Sakura?" 

"Not really." Her voice was listless and void of emotion.

"Sakura?" Naruto went over and crouched in front of her, "What's up? Did you eat at all today?"

"Yeah, Yamato brought a hot pot and some more medical scrolls for me to read. I have an appointment with Ibiki tomorrow morning."

Naruto moved to sit beside her on the couch, "I know. I'm going with you."

"I think I'll just head to bed." She was shaking and Naruto could tell she was nervous.

"Sakura, do you trust me? Just let me take care of you. OK?" at her nod Naruto went to put the kettle on and prepped a tea pot. He then took a box down from the hall closet before going into the bathroom. He made a couple of trips in and out of the different rooms in his apartment. It was a couple of minutes before he came back, holding his hand out to Sakura, he pulled her to her feet and lead her to the bathroom. Inside the room was lit with scented candles and the water in the tub was steaming beneath the bubbles. A small folding table was beside it holding a tray with the teapot, a cup, and an old book. Glancing at the title she realized it was one of her old favorites, a story she read over and over, one that gave her comfort. "Sakura, take a hot bath and relax. Just let everything else fade away. I'll go and make us some supper, something light." 

Sakura watched the door close and noted her robe and another set of his clothes hanging there. He'd thought of everything except her pajamas, but then he'd managed to do all of this without invading her privacy. A small smile flitted across her face, 'he really has grown up.' She thought.

With the bath over and a good meal in her stomach, Sakura dreaded the thought of going to sleep, but she was worn out, from her injuries and the worry of her meeting with Ibiki to come. "Naruto I know I'm asking a lot, but can you... can you hold me tonight?"

Naruto nodded, "Here, take this." He handed her a cup of juice and a pill and waited for her to finish it right there, "let me finish cleaning up. I'll be just a couple of minutes."

Sakura headed to his bedroom and crawled under the blankets. Naruto cleaned the kitchen and then headed to the bathroom to change before walking into the bedroom. He got onto the bed on top of the covers, one blanket at his feet. Laying on his back he gathered Sakura in his arms and let her settle her head on his shoulder. Rubbing his hand up and down her upper arm, he relaxed and waited until she fell asleep. 

With morning came the realization that she'd actually slept the entire night. Walking into the kitchen to see Naruto fixing breakfast she asked, "that was a sleeping pill you had me take last night, didn't you?" At his nod she felt better, at least there was a reason for the sudden ability to sleep through the night. 

"Alright, you ready to go?" Naruto had the dishes done and had just let Captain Yamato in. 

"I guess as ready as I'll ever be." Sakura was dressed in long combat pants and shirt, she reached for Naruto's jacket and headed for the door. 

Yamato and Naruto walked her to the T&I building. They didn't see Hinata watch the three from a distance. Naruto and Sakura were walking so close together, his hand in the small of her back. "Why is Sakura wearing Naruto's jacket? Why was she coming from Naruto's apartment so early in the morning?" There was no one to answer her question.

At the T&I building the threesome was met by Ino, who eyed her friend's choice of clothing with a questioning eye, but said nothing about it. "Sakura, I need to ask you something." Naruto tried to brush her off, but Ino refused to move, in fact she grabbed a hold of Sakura's hand and sat both of them on a bench. She didn't see how her friend had flinched at the sudden contact. "Ibiki has asked for a member of the Yamanaka clan to help retrieve your memories. I'll leave the decision to you. Memory retrieval in extremely intimate, if you think it'll be easier because we're friends I'll be there but if you would rather someone else do it there will be no hard feelings."

Sakura sat and stared and Ino's hand holding hers. Did she want her friend to know what had happened. Naruto and Captain Yamato had a pretty good idea of everything that had happened, but it wasn't the same as having someone see those memories through her eyes. But Ino, did she really want Ino knowing? "What do you think Ino? Do you want to see what happened?"

Ino didn't miss how Sakura looked to Naruto before asking her opinion. That only cemented her decision in her mind. "I...I.." Ino looked at her feet, "I think I'd rather have you tell me on your own."

Sakura let out a big sigh, "yeah, I think that would be best. Ok Ino, if you have someone you trust that can help retrieve my memories, I think that's the way we should go." Someone she didn't have to see on an almost daily basis. Her friendship with Ino was too important to her to damage because of memories, especially since there were others that could do the same job.

"I trust my cousin Kise completely, you'll be fine with him." Ino lead Sakura further into the building, while Yamato sat Naruto down on the bench they had just vacated. "Might as well get comfortable Naruto, this could take a number of hours."

Naruto just nodded and relaxed, he didn't say anything when Ino came back out to sit beside him. 

"Naruto," Ino looked over at the blonde. He had changed from the annoying idiot of her youth to the hero of the village. "You'll stay with Sakura right?" At his nod she continued, "will you let me how I can help?"

"Ino." He couldn't say anything else, but nodded. There would be times when Sakura need a woman to talk to instead of him.

It was just after lunch when Ibiki, came out. "Ino, head home please, I'll talk to you tomorrow." dismissing her as quickly as he acknowledge her, Ibiki turned to the remaining pair. "Naruto, Yamato come with me please." He lead the pair to a small room off to the side and closed the door. "Sakura, let us into the memories, holding nothing back. You'll be glad to know that she only let the most basic of security information on the village slip and nothing current on the Hokage. The other memories were quite traumatic for her and reliving them will bring those feeling back." The master interrogator pinned Naruto with his gaze, "What's your relationship with Sakura?"

"We're teammates, friends. I would do anything to help her. Why?" he was confused Ibiki knew they were on the same squad didn't he?

"When she came in she was wearing your jacket, after talking to Kise Yamanka she took it off, went through the the retrieval process without a problem. Once we were finished she wrapped herself in your jacket and now she's gone into shock. I'm guessing that she's using your jacket as a sort of security blanket, to keep her mind from shattering completely. We're treating her, but I suggest that you get her out of here and home right away." A silent message was passed between Ibiki and Yamato.

Naruto stood up and quietly waited for Ibiki to lead the way. "I'll protect her." 

Ibiki nodded and headed towards another conference room. He wouldn't be surprised if he did, that young Uzumaki had proved time and agin that he would anything he could for anyone. Sakura was sitting in chair pushed into a corner. Naruto's jacket zipped right up, her arms wrapped around her middle so tight as if to hold herself together. She was shivering irregardless of the warmth of the room. Naruto walked over to her calmly and crouched before her, quietly calling her name over and over.

"Sakura?" 

"I'm ok just..." Sakura stared off over his shoulder, tears cascaded down her face.

"Come on, let's get you home." He cradled her in his arms and started out of the room. "I'm taking the rooftops." he told Yamato over his shoulder.

The Captain helped wrap his cloak around the shaking young shinobi, trying to help her keep warm. "I'm right behind you."

Naruto headed straight home, not paying attention to his surroundings, trusting Yamato to see to their safety, although with them being inside the village itself, there was almost no danger. He saw Shino on his rooftop as he entered his bedroom, dropping the cloak to the floor he pulled back the blankets and set Sakura down on the bed. "Do you want a bath to warm up, Sakura?" she shook her head, "Ok, I'll make some tea and be right back." Naruto ran a hand over her hair and pulled the blankets up to her chin, before getting up. She whimpered as Naruto reached the doorway. "It's ok, Yamato has left, it's just us, and I'll be in the kitchen for less than five minutes. I promise I'll be right back." He watched as Sakura nodded, biting her lip to contain her cry. Naruto rushed into the kitchen and noticed that the kettle was already on. Either Yamato or Shino had put it on before leaving them alone. He quickly put together a tray of finger food, a pitcher of water and the teapot and cups. At the last minute he included the bottle of sleeping pills. If ever Sakura needed one it would be today. Going back into the bedroom he laid the tray on the dresser, Sakura had tears streaming down her face, and she had bit her lip hard enough bleed. Naruto went and wet down a wash cloth, then came back and gently washed her face. "Do you want some tea or water?"

"Yes please." She croaked.

Naruto poured her glass of water and then helped her sit up to drink it. 

"Thank you 'ruto."

"Here this too." Naruto helping her swallow one of the sleeping pills and more water, "this is another one of the sleeping pills that Granny left.". He forced to have a couple of crackers.

Sakura wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Naruto, I can't get warm." 

Hanging up Yamato's cloak, Naruto crawled under the blankets this time and pulled Sakura close to him. It didn't matter that it was just after noon. He was exhausted. Sharing his body heat, Sakura tucked her head under his chin settling into his embrace. Closing his eyes, Naruto hummed a lullaby he'd overheard Kurani sing to Mirai. It had sounded beautiful to him. He didn't see Hinata across the road as she peered in the window. Her heart breaking. Just when she thought Naruto might care for her, after all the lunch dates, he was in bed with Sakura. She should have known, the medical ninja was so pretty and outgoing.

"Hinata," Shikamaru was coming to check on Naruto and Sakura after their appointment at T&I when he saw the Hyuga princess, and knowing that she'd take what she saw at face value, he felt he had to explain. He ignored her blush, "You know we were asked not to bother Naruto and Sakura, and that a couple of us have been keeping watch over the two of them, but do you know why?" 

Hinata shook her head, and watched as the brilliant tactician sat down beside her, one knee bent with an arm resting on it. Shikamaru sighed and stared into Naruto's bedroom window, watching his friends sleep in the middle of the day.

"I'm only telling you because of your feelings for Naruto." He ignored the blush stealing across her face, "Naruto has no clue and the rest of us who do, won't say anything so don't panic." He reassured her glossing over the fact that her crush was oblivious to her feelings, "Saukra was on a solo mission couple of weeks ago that went horribly wrong. She was captured and tortured for quite awhile before Naruto and Captain Yamato found her. Because she was taken while she had been sleeping, she sustained life threatening injuries, and has really bad nightmares. Naruto was able to help her during the trip back by making her feel safe and right now in order for her to heal, she needs that. It won't be forever, and Sasuke is due back soon. What I need you to understand is that this is strictly platonic. It'd be much the same as you taking comfort from Shino or Kiba. The love he has for Sakura is that of a trusted friend and teammate."

Hinata cried. She cried for Sakura who had been so hurt that she no longer felt safe alone, for Naruto whose heart was so big that he helped his friends without question, and she cried for herself for being so jealous.

Shikamaru reached over to squeeze Hinata's hand, "He'll understand one day, don't give up on the idiot just yet."

"How can I help?" Hinata wanted to do something for the pair. She didn't really believe anything had happened between the two teammates, but the shock of seeing Sakura wearing Naruto's jacket earlier and then seeing her in his bed, wrapped in his arms where she longed to be had brought her worst fears to light.

"Don't hold this against either of them. Sakura needs his strength right now and Naruto is just being....well Naruto."

Hinata nodded, "Thank you Shikamaru. I know that you wanted to keep this information quiet. I will do what I can to try and make things easier."


	5. The Road to Healing

Shikamaru pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He watched as Hinata left, "well one obstacle down and however many left." He muttered to himself. Yamato had gone to the Hokage's office to give a more detailed debrief of what Ibiki found. They knew the village was safer confident they had caught all the traitors, but it was the after effect on Sakura's mind that had them all worried. She was an extremely strong kunoichi but torture had a way of changing a person. The way Yamato and the Hokage were tiptoeing around the whole ordeal led him to assume that she had been raped as well. If that was the case, he understood why they had tried to keep him out of the loop. On top of all that she had to deal with those drugs still coursing through her system. He wasn't sure that he would be in any better shape if he had been the one captured. In fact, he'd likely be worse off due to the way his mind worked, and that wasn't taking the drugs in to consideration. Finishing off his cigarette, he watched his friends. He wanted to be amazed that Sakura was healing as well as she was, but knew that Naruto and Kurama had a major hand in it too. 'The power of Naruto,' Shikamaru laughed at the thought as true as it was. 

Iruka's flare of chakra gave Shikamaru advance warning of the Chunin instructor's appearance before him. Shikamaru saw Shino taking up position on the adjoining roof, hand signs letting him now that the bug nin would take over again. Iruka was there let him know that the Hokage wanted to see him, while the Chunin was getting ready for his shift at the mission desk. They headed straight to the office, "I have to say, that I am extremely proud of all of you guys. When I remember how you were in the academy and then the changes after the chunin exams and now after the war. You band together and protect one another the way a team should. Be proud of that Shikamaru." Iruka boosted.

"We need to be more proactive with this type of thing. How many other shinobi have been in this exact position? How many have retired because of the pressure? We need more help." Shikamaru voiced the concerns running through his mind, regardless of the fact that Iruka had no real idea what he was talking about yet. 

Iruka let the genuis rant, finally figuring out what was bugging him. Shikamaru had a point but there just didn't seem to be an answer, at least not one that he could see. It was why he had asked to be removed from active duty. Oh sure, the Hokage could request he take a mission and he'd be hard pressed to deny it, but he focused his attention on training the next generation. Other instructors like Genma and Aoba managed to still take missions. He followed Shikamaru as he headed straight for the Hokage's door.

Inside the office, Shikamaru continued the conversation he had started with Iruka, back peddling a little to let the Hokage, Captain Yamato and Ibiki understand his thoughts. "We all have the occasional nightmare from the war and everything that Madara did, but when that happens and it's really bad, Naruto's chakra flares; especially around the ten of us, to give us comfort. I don't think he even know's what he's doing. Let alone how to stop it." He tried to catch Kakashi's eye, but the Hokage was looking out the window. "Temari has let me know that the same thing has happened in Suni. Lady Tsunade thinks it's a hold over from when he shared his chakra with everyone and the power he gained from the Sage of the Six Paths. The moron doesn't know how to NOT help, although it only seems to appear when there is absolute despair. It's like that needed boost to help us heal, but only if we can't seem to do it on our own."

The men just let him talk, obviously something had been bugging him on the way over here. It was important enough that he'd only given a cursory glance at the men in the room. That was enough for him to continue, as he knew their clearance levels. All three of them had worked enough with Shikaku and with Shikamaru to know that this was often how the men worked out complex problems. It was either that or someone would have to play the genius in shoji, and no one wanted to face that embarrassment. 

"I take it you've seen a difference with how he treats Sakura?" Ibiki asked.

"Yeah, it like he's pulling back. I mean he's still helping but it's more like he's giving her the control over when and how he is allowed to help. Like he's not wanting her to become dependent on him for her healing." Shikamaru was still trying to piece everything together and parts were missing.

"It could be that he's waiting for Sasuke. I think you'll find that when Sasuke returns and has gotten a hold of the situation, Naruto will allow more of his chakra to help the two of them heal together." Kakashi followed the young Nara's thought process.

Shikamaru thought about that and agreed. That would be Naruto, unconsciously waiting for the rest of his team, especially given that Sasuke and Sakura were dating. "Yeah that makes sense and matches how Naruto would think. Hinata was by earlier today as well. I guess she saw the two of them head towards T&I and ended up seeing them at his apartment." He didn't say anything about Hinata spying Sakura and Naruto in bed, she now understood that there was nothing sexual going on, "I explained a little more to her, and I believe she understands what's going on, and is willing to help where she can." The group hoped the explanation would satisfy her and not destroy the relationship that was on the verge of blooming. "I think we need to expand T&I."

That comment had Kakashi raising his head sharply toward the Nara, "Why? What are you thinking Shikamaru?"

"Well it just hit on the way here. We can't continue to rely on Naruto to help us out. We don't know just how this all effects him. I mean how many shinobi really sleep through the night? How many are able to truly relax when they get down time? Even you sir, how many times have the nightmares woken you? How many times has Naruto helped us out without us even knowing it." Shikamaru thought back to the journals his dad had written. "Could something like this set him back? Could he relapse?"

Kakashi's head jerked up and he finally met Shikamaru's eyes. His mind went to the many conversations the the two of them had over their blonde haired friend. He also knew that the shadow user wasn't trying to be inconsiderate. It was a valid point. The things he had done and seen as a shinobi, even as ANBU continued to haunt him. "What do you purpose we do?" He knew that Shikamaru wouldn't bring it up without also having a solution.

"It would be a good idea to evaluate all active shinobi, to make sure that they aren't suffering from PTSD or something similar. If we had a way of providing help without it being seen as a black mark on their record that would be a good start. By evaluating everyone and providing councelling at the same time, it would start them all on an equal footing. Oh man, I'm not explaining this well." Shikamaru rubbed his hand over his face. Why couldn't explain what he saw in his head.

"I think I get it Skiamaru, the first thing we need to do though is train more support staff, maybe if we combine psychological help with physical rehabilitation we'd get some top notch therapists. They could assess everyone after a mission." Ibiki rubbed his chin, "It might take some time to get the right people, and to make sure that no gets passed or removed without a valid reason." 

"Yeah, that's it, if we make it mandatory after every mission, from D-rank to S-rank no one will be singled out. If we include something like this at the academy the new genins won't feel the same stigmatism asking for and receiving help that the older more experienced shinobi might." Shikamaru looked out the window and over the village, "It'll take time and money to train new therapists and to make sure everything can still run smoothly, but..."

"Yes it will be worth it in the long run." Kakashi could see the benefit, just like having medical ninja available to work on the teams. It could also help people like Naruto, those who felt like outcasts to the point of attempting suicide. "I'll get someone to look into what would be needed and see about implementing some of the easier changes right away. Thank you Shikamaru."

Shikamaru let out a deep breath, Kakashi and the others understood what he was talking about  
"Shikamaru, is there any other concerns that we may have overlooked?"

Shikamaru nodded but glanced at the other men. All of them knew that Shikamaru had something to say that he didn't want them to hear.

"We'll head out from here," Ibiki spoke up, he had faith in the young Nara, if he felt it was something to be heard by Kakashi alone, Ibiki was trust him. The young strategist was too much like his father that way. Secrets remained secrets, it was one of the reasons he was so good at his job.

"Shikamaru, I'll be at the mission desk if you want to talk later." Iruka opened the door and left first.

Ibiki and Yamato both said goodbye and then followed, leaving the Hokage with Shikamaru. Kakashi just raised an eyebrow and waited.

"It's Naruto." Shikamaru said.

"Naruto? What do you mean?"

"Kakshi do you remember the journals of my dad's?" He waited for a nod before continuing, "well, I'm worried that when all this gets back to the new normal, that he'll slip back into that mind set."

Kakashi closed his eyes, Shikaku had written about many things, one of which was Naruto going through depression and harming himself. To be that close to Sakura and soon Sasuke would put a lot of pressure on the blonde. Especially dealing with the nightmare and fears she's going through. Naruto always did his best to protect his friends and the fact that Sakura was dealing with a life altering situation, only meant the knucklehead was putting himself last. He'd likely also be worried about Sasuke and how he'd react. Talk about stress. "There's not much that we can do until we know how he's going to react. We'll keep an eye on him, I'll need you and someone you can trust to make sure that Naruto will be alright and to keep me up to date." He really didn't want to add on to Shikamaru's load, after all it hadn't been that long ago that the genius had collapsed from exhaustion.


	6. Panic Attack

The weekend passed with Naruto and Sakura not leaving the apartment at all, giving them a chance to recover. Monday- Shikamaru brought lunch. He stayed for the next three hours trying to teach Naruto how to play shoji, and winning within the first handful of moves each time. Sakura learned as well but was just as as bad as Naruto. The three of them laughed at each other's antics. The evening had Sakura taking another sleeping pill, but still calling out for Naruto in the night. Tuesday- Shino visited and brought a movie for them to all watch. He didn't say a word when Sakura curled into Naruto's side, huddled beneath a blanket. Wednesday- it was Kakashi and bunch of novels for Sakura and a ramen recipe for Naruto. Thursday- Naruto managed to talk Sakura into going to the training ground. Lee joined them and the three of them worked on taijutsu. That afternoon Ino arrived with a spa pampering kit and kicked Naruto out for a couple of hours. 

Naruto saw Hinata on the street. "Hey Hinata, just who I was looking for. Do you have time to come and have tea with me?" He reached out to her.

"Naruto," Hinata's blush was evident but she still gathered her courage and reach out to take his hand. Something must be bothering him for him to seek out physical contact. She had been invited to join the other girls for a spa day as a way to help Sakura. The fact that the medical ninja was living at Naruto's apartment was still hard for her to take. "I, well I am supposed to.."

"Please Hinata, it won't be long."

The pleading in his voice and the circles she could see under his eyes swayed her conviction, and she nodded. Naruto held her hand tightly as he lead her to near by restaurant where the chances of them running into any of their friends was slim. "Talk to me Naruto. How can I help?"

He pulled her into a booth beside him, not letting go of her for a second. "Just keep being my friend please." he whispered.

She nodded and squeezed his hand and leaned closer to him. Hoping that he took comfort from her presence just like she took comfort from him. Lifting the cup to her mouth she took a sip and noticed he left his untouched. 'Of course' she thought, Naruto was holding her hand with his left, and he likely didn't trust the right hand for things like picking up a delicate tea cup yet. "Sasuke will be back soon." 

He placed their joined hands on his thigh and leaned back against the booth, closing his eyes, "I'm just so tired, Hinata, and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. I mean what do I know about this type of thing."

Hinata pulled her hand from his and ran it over his short hair. She didn't ask for clarification just gave him the answer he needed to hear. "I'm sure that you're doing what you're heart tells you is right, and with Sakura in mind. That kind of love and care comes through in everything you do." Hinata was shocked when Naruto leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder, "will you call me if you need help? I know Shikamaru, Shino and even Sai have been helping, but don't forget the rest of us ok?" 

Naruto nodded, "Thank you Hinata, I won't forget." She let him rest for a while and in no hurry to end their time together. Humming quietly, she rubbed her thumb back and forth over his hand. Eventually he rose, paid for the tea, and lead her up to his apartment. Inside Sakura, Ino and Tenten were chatting around cups of tea.

"Hinata, I was looking for you earlier, but I see you had a better offer." Ino forged ahead staring at their joined hands and ignoring the way Hinata's blush deepened. In the background the pair could hear giggling coming from Sakura and Tenten. 

Naruto just shrugged and scratched his head, like he'd ever understand women. How his apartment became the gathering point of all these women he had no idea. Likely because Sakura was here, at least it was clean enough. He caught Sakura's eye and waited for her to nod before walking towards his room. "Call me when this over OK?" sitting outside on his balcony with the living room still in his line of sight; he left the women in his apartment.

"Hey man, sorry I couldn't warn you that they were still there." Kiba jumped down from the roof to join him. The pair sat with their legs out stretched before them.

"S'ok, Sakura is laughing and that's the main thing right." Naruto was watching them through the window.

"She handling the group ok," Kiba peered inside and watched Ino, since she dumped the last loser she had been dating, he hoped to catch her alone to ask her out.

"Yeah it seems like it." Naruto glanced over as Shikamaru, Shino, Sai and Lee joined them on the balcony, "Do any of you know what they're doing in there? It smells of flowers."

Kiba laughed, leave it to Naruto, "some type of beauty spa day, at least that was what Ino was talking about."

They watched as the four kunoichi applied color to their faces and nails, "Why? Why do they insist on covering the face and nails with all that goop? They're all beautiful in their own way." Naruto didn't understand why they wanted to change how they looked.

There was a knock on the door, and TenTen went to answer it, four more women entered.

Naruto watched as Lady Tsunade, Shizune and Kurani walked in and another blonde behind them, "Who's behind Shizune?" He couldn't see, but she seemed familiar.

"Oh man, what a bother." Shikamaru's dry tone gave a hint as to who it was.

"Isn't that.." Shino started.

"Yeah, she said she was coming for a visit, I just wasn't sure when." Shikamaru stubbed out his cigarette. Although she understood, Temari hated it when he smoked.

Naruto watched as Shikamaru fixed his hair and popped a mint in his mouth and pass one to Kiba.

"It looks like they plan on staying a while." Sai's comment brought them all back to the fact that eight women were now inside Naruto's apartment while the six of them were out on his small balcony. 

'Make that seven,' thought Naruto as Choji joined them with a large bag of snacks and drinks for the group. They spent the next couple of hours chatting about everything under the sun, conversations overlapping and laughter spilling out from inside, the sunset provided a beautiful backdrop. Naruto stopped mid sentence and charged into the apartment. His frantic glance scanning past the women, until he found the one he was looking for. He scooped Sakura up and headed straight for the bathroom. The quiet of the living room didn't register on the pair. Sakura had her fist in her mouth to stop the screams Naruto was sure were building up in her chest. She was shaking in his arms so much he was a afraid she'd slide right out of his grasp. Sitting on the floor, with his back against the tub, Naruto held her on his lap, her head dropping onto his shoulder, his neck damp with her tears in seconds. 

The guys had followed him into the apartment, but left Sakura to Naruto. Without a words the entire group stopped what they were doing. Ino and Tenten started gathering everything up quietly, Hinata picked up the dishes they had used and took them into the kitchen. Temari reached for Shikamaru's hand giving it a squeeze as her eyes met his. She brought her fingers to her lips to quiet the shocked gasp that wanted to come out when she saw what was reflected there.

"Ino, we'll give you a hand carting your things home." Kiba said as he and Shino helped her and Tenten finish packing up the beauty supplies. 

"Shizune." Tsunade called out.

"Right my lady," Shizune followed the four out of the apartment. 

"Temari, I'm sorry for this. Shikamaru take her some place quiet and explain. Lee you might as well go too." She ignored the tears streaming down his face. "Sai, I want you back on the rooftop please." Tsunade took control, clearing out the apartment quickly and quietly.

Choji gathered the snacks he'd brought and took them into the kitchen. Hinata was at the stove, chopping the vegetables they had set out as finger food, to add to a broth she'd found in the fridge. "I thought if I made a pot of soup, it could simmer until they can eat it. It's light enough.." Hinata's voice broke and Choji pulled her in for a hug. Both of them with tears in their eyes.

"It's not fair is it?" Choji's quiet introspection had Hinata nodding, "there's nothing that we can really do except be there for them." 

Tsunade stepped into the kitchen at Choji's words. Shikamaru had told her that he had talked to Hinata about the situation, but to have it so in your face like this sure wasn't helping much. She was glad Hinata had Choji and the rest of her friends to rely on. "Do you have water on for tea?" 

Hinata blushed and pulled out of Choji's embrace and nodded.

"I'm sure you have the apartment cleared out and security handled, but is there anything we can help with?" Choji asked.

"No Choji, I think you've done quite a lot here. Sakura just had a major panic attack. Hinata, you making soup is a spot of genius." Tsuande cupped the young Hygua's shoulder before she opened a cupboard and pulled out a glass and a bottle of pills, showing the others that she felt at home here, or at least knew where Naruto kept everything. "I'm going to give Sakura a quick once over and then it might be best if we let Naruto deal with things, until he asks for our help."

Hinata turned the stove off and covered the pot before making the tea and setting it on a tray on the table. Choji waited for her and the two left together. 

Tsunade knocked gently on the bathroom door. "Naruto, it just me, I'm coming in." Tsunade knelt by pair on the floor. "Sakura, I want you to take this and relax. Remember that you're safe here." She held the glass to Sakura's lips and helped her to take the sleeping pill. "The apartment is empty, and Hinata has made some soup and there is tea ready."

"They must think I'm a flake." Sakura whined.

"Nah, they're more likely to think I just wanted everyone out so I could have some time with my girlfriend." leered Naruto. Sakura hit him for the girlfriend comment, but it was half hearted at best. 

"Come on lets go get some of that soup. It smells delicious." Naruto helped Sakura get to her feet and the three left the bathroom. 

Lady Tsunade went straight to the apartment door, "Eat a meal, take a bath and do something mindless for the next day or two. Lee said to let you know that training ground three will be empty most afternoons if you want to go and do some training. Sai is on the rooftop for tonight. Call me if you need me; ok you two?"

Naruto dished out two bowls of soup and poured the tea before stripping off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. "We'll do as Granny said and have some soup before you get into a nice hot bath, after that we'll just sit around and do nothing."

Sakura slid her arms into the jacket and zipped it up, "Hinata is another really good cook. I know you and Choji can cook," Sakura was reaching for any topic that distracted her from the panic attack she'd just had for no other reason than one of her friends had grabbed her hand. "Sasuke, Ino and I can make the basics but Sai and Kiba are useless. I don't know about Shika or Shino's abilities do you?"

"Shikamaru can cook, but it's generally one dish meals or something easy. Shino, however, is just as good as Hinata. He and I both learned a number of dishes from Kosuke. Hinata loves to cook as much as I do, although cooking for one is really boring." Naruto took their dishes to the sink to wash up, while Sakura stored the rest of the soup in the fridge.

"I think I'll just take a quick shower, that pill of Lady Tsunade's and everything else is really making me tired."

"Go ahead." Naruto watched her gather up the items she wanted from the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. He took the opportunity to change the sheets on his bed again and pull the futon out of his closet and stored it behind the couch, along with some extra blankets and a pillow. He quickly changed in to some sleep pants, looking at the pile of clothes. He figured tomorrow would end up being a laundry day. Sakura probably needed some clean clothes too, but she could do her own. So far she hadn't really snooped around his room much. He had cleared out a drawer for her to store stuff. 

"Your turn." Sakura was drying her hair with a towel, the make up and hair products removed with the water.

"You know," Naruto mentioned as he headed for the bathroom and a quick shower, "I think all of you girls look a lot prettier without all that stuff you put on today."

Sakura's jaw dropped, only Naruto would compliment a girl that way. It was a scant ten minutes later when he returned freshly scrubbed and smelling of lemongrass and the outdoors. He pulled a clean t shirt out the dresser and put it on. 

"What do you want to do Sakura? Sit on the couch and read or go to sleep?"

"I think I need sleep. Naruto...."

"It's ok, I'm here for you, come on. " Naruto held up the edge of the blankets and let her crawl in. Tucking them around her he settled himself on top of them and opened his arms. Sakura curled up to his side and laid her head on his shoulder. Humming some mindless tune, he wrapped one arm around her back to rest on her hip and the other held her hand flat to his chest, so she could feel his heartbeat. Within minutes she was asleep. Naruto just lay there staring at the ceiling and listening to her breathe slowly succumbing to the pull of slumber himself.


	7. A Lover's Return

Something woke him. Naruto slowly reached for the Kunai he had stashed under his pillow as he tried to search the darkness for the threat.

"Just me Uzamaki, so don't go trying to skewer me." The figure moved closer to the bed, allowing Naruto to see who it was, although he knew that voice.

"Sasuke." he breathed out a sigh of relief, "give me a minute here and I'll meet you in the living room." Naruto took his time moving Sakura out of his embrace without waking her. Closing the door to the bedroom Naruto joined his best friend on the couch.

"You know if it was anyone but you...."

"Yeah yeah I know, you'd beat me bloody for making the moves on your girl. Like we haven't done that before for different reasons." Naruto took the glass of water, Sasuke handed him and waited. Not sure if the solemn man would ask questions or if he was expected to tell the tale in it's entirety.

"Ok so what happened?" Sasuke demanded.

"Well you got my message about Sakura being taken prisoner?" at the raven's nod he continued, "Well it turns out that she had been tortured. Her injuries have healed and the drugs they used have been purged from her system, and she's back to normal levels of chakra. The biggest problem is the flashbacks and night terrors. They don't seem so bad if I'm holding her. I've been waiting until she calls me or has a nightmare before I go to her, except for tonight. The first couple of days after we returned to the village we spent mostly hanging out and recovering. She'd have one maybe two flashbacks a night. Then we went and saw Ibiki-san to retrieve her memories on what information she might have given and who held her. Since then, the flashbacks have been more frequent and more intense. Today the gang was here. The guys and I were out on the balcony, and the girls inside doing some beauty thing when she had a massive panic attack. Granny Tsunade gave her a sedative tonight, but Sakura asked me to hold her. She hasn't really been sleeping soundly." Naruto scrubbed his hand down his face. She wasn't the only one who hadn't been sleeping, he was tired and worried. 

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice wavered and that had the Uchiha examining his friend closer.

"What aren't you telling me dobe? What has you spooked?" somehow Sasuke knew it had something to do with the woman sleeping in the other room.

"Her attack," Naruto whispered, he wasn't sure if he should speak up or let Sakura tell him herself. "It was bad Sasuke, real bad."

Sasuke looked towards the bedroom and his girlfriend sleeping in his best friend's bed. The hands resting on his thighs clenched into fists, he leaned his head back against the sofa and sighed. He knew just how bad it could be. Rolling his head towards his best friend, "I see you have the futon out, you want me to crash there or is it for you? Do you even think I should stay?"

"Stay, but I'd suggest taking a shower and use my soap. I've got her using my scent as a calming trigger. I would have used something of yours except you washed everything you left here, even your sheets for once." Naruto laughed, Sasuke had given up his apartment in the village when he decided to travel and make amends. Whenever he was back in the village he stayed with Naruto or in the mission room barracks. Sasuke grabbed a pair of sleep pants from his bedroom as he headed towards the bathroom. "Neither of us wanted to trespass on your privacy, so aside from a quick search for something with your scent, we haven't been in there." Naruto walked over to the window. He raised his hand in acknowledgement of Shino across the way before heading back into the bedroom with Sasuke just behind him. Naruto took the edge by the wall while Sasuke crawled under the blankets to gather Sakura in his arms. She flinched at the feel of being surrounded, before recognizing the scent and hearing Naruto hum that mindless lullaby again.

Naruto left the sleeping couple at first light to enjoy the sunrise on the roof top. His bed was alright for two people, but three was a really tight squeeze. He figured that by having Sasuke use his soap last night, and her being familiar with his scent already that Sakura should be alright. He was tempted to take one of the sleeping pills but figured he should wait until Sakura woke and saw that Sasuke was with them. Maybe tonight.

"Is she safe with him?" Shikamaru asked as he and Shino joined Naruto. Shikamaru had never got along with Sasuke, then he'd abandoned the village in search of Orochimaru and tried multiple time to kill both Sakura and Naruto. It wasn't that he still held a grudge, he just didn't trust the guy.

"Yeah, physically. She was asleep when he arrived as I'm sure you know." Looking at the Hokage mountain and the way the sun hit Kakashi's face. Naruto thought about everything the three of them had been through under Kakashi's tutelage. "I guess we'll have to see how she reacts when she wakes up. It might be another day or two that they're both here, but honestly I think that by then Sakura and Sasuke will go back to her apartment. She won't want to be alone, but to have the three us here might be too much. Come inside for some breakfast?" He headed back inside, knowing that Shikamaru would follow and stay until he was satisfied they were both safe. In the kitchen Sasuke was already up and putting water on for tea. 

"Good morning Shikamaru." 

Shikamaru watched as Naruto and Sasuke moved around each other in a graceful ballet as they prepared breakfast. In fact he half expected one or the other to start jostling for the lead like they used to when they were on missions. That they didn't showed how much both of them had matured and just maybe a silent truce for Sakura's sake. Dishes and cutlery were set out, and tea made when Sakura walked out of the bedroom in her pajamas and Naruto's jacket. It said something about their relationship that Sakura went straight to Sasuke and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He held her hands against his stomach as he held the plates for Naruto to dish out breakfast. Nothing was said between the three of them about the fact that they had all spent the night in the same bed, and Shikamaru could detect no embarrassment from any of them. 

"Good morning Shikamaru, and thank you." Sakura leaned against Sasuke, taking two plates from him and turning toward the table.

He watched as she placed a plate in front of him and sat down beside Sasuke "Hey," Shikamaru savored his breakfast, Naruto always was a good cook. "I'm just here to check in on how you're doing, and to let you know that everyone understands what happened yesterday. You know that we will be here for you whenever you need us, however you need us to be." Sakura ducked her head like she was ashamed of what had happened, reaching across the table the Nara held her hand and waited until she met his eyes. "Sakura, there is nothing to be ashamed of. We've all had panic attacks of different types. Have you talked to one of the jonin therapists yet?"

"Yeah, we both have. Separately." Naruto answered.

Shikamaru nodded, "Good, well I'm off." He carried his plate to the sink before leaving.

"He doesn't trust you." Sakura told Sasuke after Shikamaru left.

"I don't care if he trusts me or not, as long as it doesn't change how he treats you and Naruto." Sasuke sipped the last of his tea as Naruto washed the dishes.

"Shikamaru doesn't work that way." Naruto spoke up, defending one friend against another yet again. "He's more worried about how you'll treat us." Sasuke whipped his head towards the blonde. Naruto was still washing dishes, unaware that his comment had caused such turmoil. "So what do you two want to do today?"

The trio spent the morning catching up and working on chores. Sakura voiced her concern over the state of her fridge and plants. Sasuke went with her to check on everything. 

"You could have let them know they'd been taken care off. Ino's been looking after her apartment this entire time." Shino commented as he joined Naruto on his couch.

"Yeah, but then they wouldn't have their alone time." He voice tinged with amusement and using air quotes. "Besides this way I can let down my guard a bit. Sasuke will watch out for her. It's Sakura's way of checking to see if she still needs me near or not. If they come back for supper, she's not ready just yet."

Shino was impressed with how much of a handle Naruto had on the human psyche. "Do you think they'll come back?"

"Yeah at least for tonight, although I'm going to try and sleep out here, maybe take one of Granny's pills."

Shino really looked at his friend then. The dark circles were evident, he'd been putting on a brave face for Sakura and it was starting to take its toll. "Why don't you curl up and sleep now. I can put a sound barrier up so you won't be disturbed and I'll stick around in case you need something or if there's an emergency."

Naruto looked over at his friend in a new light. "Thank you Shino. I know you, Sai and Shikamaru have shouldered a lot of this, and I really appreciate it. I don't know what I'd do without all of you."

"Get some sleep Naruto."

Sakura and Sasuke returned hours later to Shino making supper in the kitchen while Hana and Sai sat at the table talking to him. Naruto was no where to be seen.

"Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"You guys moving in?" Sasuke's question overlapped Sakura's. Automatically shifting Sakura slightly behind him, making sure his good arm was free.

Shino noted the stance, but ignored it. "Naruto's asleep, has been pretty much since you left." The comment shocked Sakura. They'd been gone for hours and Naruto was never one for naps during the day, she didn't realize how much her flashbacks had been affecting her friend. "If he didn't want you here Sakura, he would have said something." Shino proved that he could read her emotions. "He's fine, just tired. None of us were sure what your plans were for tonight, so I made supper, with the thought that if you and Sasuke wanted to go out, Hana, Sai and I would stay and eat with Naruto. If you two wanted to eat here, then Hana, Sai and I would leave. No problem either way." Shino's calm demeanor let the pair know that there was no right or wrong choice.

"I am to let you know that Hokage Kakashi and Lady Tsunade would like to see the three of you tomorrow afternoon." Sai passed on his message, "and that Choji is having a party Saturday night and you're all invited. It's just the twelve of us and whomever we'd like to bring as a plus one if we have one."

"Shino, would there be a way to stretch the meal to include Sasuke and myself. We planned on coming back, but I'd like the chance to visit with you some more." Sakura's voice shook, but she knew she needed to get used to being with others and who better to start with then her friends.

"Actually, I need to leave." Sai spoke up, "I just wanted to make sure to pass on the messages about the Hokage and the Choji's party to either you or Naruto. I'm off on a two day mission with Aboa, but I'll be around to catch up later."

"There is enough food, don't worry about that, Shino always cooks too much." Hana joked, "It's like he expects everyone to eat like Kiba does."

"Well, Naruto eats like Kiba so there may not be as much as you think." Sakura looked over at Naruto's bedroom and the closed door, should they wake him or let him sleep?

"Let him sleep, Naruto will eat when he's hungry." Sauske rubbed his hand up and down Sakura's back, reassuring her. 

"I'm monitoring him, so please don't worry Sakura." Shino brought the meal over to the table while Hana hunted through the cupboards for plates and cups. The foursome sat and ate the wonderful meal that Shino had prepared, Sauske sat beside Sakura as closes as he could, as if that physical touch help to keep the both grounded and perhaps it did. After supper Hana and Sakura sat in the living room chatting while Sasuke and Shino cleaned the kitchen. 

It was at the door a couple of hours later that Shino told Sasuke and Sakura, "I won't be far, in case Naruto or you need anything."

"So Shino and Hana?" Sakura curled into Sasuke's side as he voiced his thoughts. "That's Kiba's sister right?"

"Yeah, she seems to suit Shino, not as energetic as Kiba, but enough to maybe push Shino out of his comfort zone a bit." Sakura remembered how worried Shino had been over Kiba's reaction to their relationship. They'd been together almost a year now, but it was only recently that the pair had started to act like a couple in public.

Sasuke lifted Sakura onto his lap and laid down on the sofa. Resting his head against the arm, and settled Sakura against his chest. "Well, enough about everyone else. We have time to focus on us for now. " His hand travelled up and down her back, her head rested just under his chin, listening to his heartbeat and taking in his scent. "When is your next meeting with the jonin you've been talking to?"

"I see Tuskki-san day after tomorrow."

The quiet between them was comfortable. Just before Sakura fell asleep, Sasuke carried her to the apartment's spare room. "Why don't you get ready for bed. I can sleep either here or out on the futon whichever you'd prefer."

"All my stuff is in the other room." Sakura headed towards the door before Sasuke stopped her.

"I know that Naruto has stored my stuff in here as well as some of Konohamaru's clothes for when the two of them go off to train. Grab something from here, that way we don't bother Naruto. Do you want to have a shower?"

"No, I'm ok."

"Alright," Sasuke pulled out a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt for himself. "I'll go have a quick shower then." He turned and left the room.

Sakura took the time to change her clothes. A pair of Konohamaru's pants and one of Sasuke's shirts. Standing in the kitchen she looked at the pill bottle. Did she want another sleeping pill?

"Do you want to try without the pills?" Sasuke leaned against the wall rubbing a towel over his head. She must have been standing there a lot longer then she thought.

"Alright, but if I'm trying it without the pills, you're climbing into bed with me." 

Sasuke smiled, "just what every man wants to hear. An invitation to climb into bed with a beautiful woman." Sakura hit him in the stomach as she walked passed. Not hard, but enough for him to feel it. "Huumpfh!" Sasuke bent over at the punch, but he followed Sakura back into towards the bedroom. He watched as she picked up Naruto's jacket and put it back on, hugging the collar to her face. "Does it still smell like him?"

"Yeah, but that's just because he keeps switching it for the one he's been wearing. I don't know why his scent is so calming, but it is." Sakura crawled under the blankets and snuggled into the pillow.

Sasuke laid down with her pulled the blankets up and over their shoulders. "If you want to know a secret sometimes I steal one of his pillow cases when I leave the village. There's something about Naruto and his scent that reminds me of home and security." Sakura giggled to hear that Sasuke had the same weakness, "you ever tell him I said that and I'll deny it to the end of my days."

Sakura smiled against Sasuke's chest and closed her eyes letting sleep over take her. The dreams came in the middle of the night, the screams shocking Sasuke awake. His arms automatically came around Sakura to hold her close. He reversed their position, putting Sakura underneath him to protect her from whatever had scared her. 

All Sakura felt was being held down, being pinned by a man. A man whose body was between her legs. NO! She wasn't going to be the victim again, she was going to fight back. Gathering what chakra she could, she hit the man hovering above her. The body crashed into the chair in the corner of the room, Sakura used the opportunity to scramble into the opposite corner. Her eyes searching for an exit. Spying the window she was about to make her over to it when a head popped into view. 'Damn, that means the door,' keeping her back to the wall, Sakura inched her way closer to freedom, still watching the head in the window and man just starting to move in the opposite corner of the room.

The door opened and Sakura froze, she was surrounded. That would mean she would have to fight her way out. 

Naruto rushing into the room and turned on the lights. The scene before him was almost surreal. Kiba's hooded head was at the window, not sure if he should come in or not. Naruto shook his head, and Kiba took a small step back. Saskue was on the floor in the far corner and was moving slowly. Naruto figured it was because he wasn't used to being hit by Sakura like he was. As for Sakura, she looked like a stunned rabbit, not sure which way to run. Her pupils were blown wide and her breathing was ragged and shallow.

"Sakura?" Naruto held his arms out wide and his voice low, but didn't move any further into the room. "Sakura, it's Naruto can you hear me. We're back in the village. You're at my apartment. It's just you and me and Saskue here. Kiba is outside. You made me clean and wash floors today remember. I can still smell the soap, can't you?" He kept a running commentary of meaningless small talk, but it was working. She was calming down.

Kiba decided to forgo his spot on the roof for the balcony just outside of Naruto's room. He'd wait and give the trio some privacy before asking if they needed more help. Settling himself against the wall, he was glad that Akamaru stayed at home. The sound of a whining dog might have triggered something else for his traumatized friend. Reflecting back on the scene he'd just watched, he knew that Sakura had likely gone through more then what Shikamaru had told them. 

Inside, Sasuke watched as Sakura slowly became aware of her surroundings. He stayed where he was, in the corner of the room. He didn't want to admit how much her punch had hurt. He didn't think he'd ever been hit by Sakura, at least not hard. His admiration for Naruto raised a little more remembering all the times Sakura had hit the knucklehead for one stupid comment or another. Watching the powerhouse work his magic now, Sakura slid down the wall to sit on the floor. She rested her head on her knees and then the sobs started. 

Naruto went to her then, still talking in low voices and not making any sudden movements. "Hey, Sakura, it's ok, come on let's get you into a warm shower and I'll make some tea. I think Hana left some of those sweet dumplings too." Naruto helped her to stand and lead her to the bathroom. "Grab some of her clothes, will ya Sasuke?" He called over his shoulder.

The Uchihia nodded an headed off to Naruto's room, spotting Kiba on the balcony he figured he had a minute or two to check in with him. 

"Kiba."

"Sasuke. How is she?"

Sasuke ignored the tears in his comrades eyes and took a deep breath. "I really don't know. I thought things were going well but then this."

Kiba eyed the man crushing his girlfriend's clothes to his chest, he looked different then before. He didn't mean physically, Sasuke had left his prosthetic arm off for the night and his hair was longer. No the differences were in his eyes and in his attitude. The Uchihia was no longer the cocky know it all he had been. He was still quiet and kept to himself, but it was more introspective not so angry at the world. "Look, when we get an animal who has been abused we surround them with one scent, from one person who does the majority of the comforting. It often takes months before they are ready to give up that scent completely, but there are always bouts of set backs. It is the cases when they don't seem to need help that we worry. Those are the ones that self destruct or hurt others." He put his hands up to stop Sasuke before he spoke. "I know dealing with Sakura is different then dealing with an injured dog, but the concept is similar. Sakura is going to have set backs," Kiba placed his hands on Sasuke's stomach to heal the damage Sakura had unintentionally inflicted, "she's going to react again much like she did tonight. She's not going to want to be touched or she'll cling, her moods will swing wildly. It'll take years to heal if she ever does. If you can't handle it, you need to decide right away because the cruelest thing you can do is to be there for her and then abandon her when she really needs just you."

Sasuke heard the water in the bathroom shut off and the noise in the kitchen increase. "Thanks Kiba," he headed back inside stopping at the bathroom door. He knocked, "Sakura, I'm going to open the door and put your clothes on the floor. Naruto and I are in the kitchen, please come out and join us." He shut the door quietly but made noise going back towards the kitchen where he spotted his best friend standing in front of the sink. 

"A fine pair we make eh?" Naruto didn't turn around as Sasuke sat at the table. 

The tea was sitting there waiting and Sasuke realized that Naruto had likely heard the whole conversation he'd had with Kiba. "What's Tuskki-San like?"  


"I haven't met him," Naruto replied staring into his tea, "I see someone else. Sakura and I figured it would be better that way. No conflict of interest, no pressure on the Jonin to hear two sides of the same story. We do try to schedule our appointment around the same time. I don't know if that was a smart thing or not. I know that Sakura is usually pretty raw when she come out of a session, and generally so am I, although I haven't even gotten to the juicy parts yet. I think I may stop seeing him soon."

"Why?"

"There's a waiting list of shinobi who could use his services, and while I know I still need help they need it more. If I give up my spot someone else can get in to see him."

Sasuke shook his head, that was so Naruto, always trying to help someone else. The moron. Sakura stood just outside the bathroom door, seemingly unsure of what to do.

"Hey, Sakura, come have some tea," Naruto's face was completely transformed. A wide smile and bright eyes, belied the sorrow and indecision that Sasuke had just seen. Sakura fell for the act and like a moth to a flame was drawn closer. She sat at the end of the table. Sasuke poured her a cup of tea and offered her dumplings while Naruto got up and rummaged through the living room cupboard coming back triumphant with a small square in his hand.

"Hey Idiot, what do you have now?" The taunt was second nature and said more with affection then heat.

"Cards."

Sasuke groaned and Sakura smiled. The number of nights they had played cards while on mission as team seven had been endless. Naruto just shuffled and dealt the cards. "Same rules as always. 

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura talked to the Hokage and Lady Tsunade the next day. They all agreed that things were progressing as well as could be expected. Sasuke would go with Sakura to a couple of her counseling sessions to see just what he could do to help. Shikamaru and the rest of the gang would end their watch as Sasuke was now present to help should there be need. The gang would get a day off to rest before going back on the duty roster. Naruto had three days before he'd be put onto rotation, Sakura was off until she was cleared by Tuskki and since Sasuke wasn't officially on the duty roster at all, he'd stick around until Sakura was cleared.

Life was slowly returning to normal. Naruto still had two roommates, as Sakura didn't want to move back to her apartment yet and Sasuke didn't bring the issue up. She still had nightmares and flashbacks but was able to go back to sleep with the help of Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was often out at the training grounds with one or more of his friends, or meeting with Iruka or Yamato deep in conversation. 

Saturday rolled around with everyone present at Choji's. Shino, Naruto and Choji had made a lot of the food that everyone was enjoying. Naruto glanced around. Choji was dating Karui of the Stone, she was a really nice woman who cared for Choji and treated him as the wonderful man he was. Even Naruto could see the way his self esteem grew. Shino was still with Hana, Kiba's sister; and never were a pair more suited. She brought him out of his shell and he seemed to make her shine. Ino was dating some Chunin, but no one seemed to know much about him. He wouldn't meet the group and just the feel of his residual chakra made Naruto's skin itch, and not in a good way. Sakura walked around the party with a death grip on Sasuke's prosthetic hand and wearing the bright orange jacket. No one said a word, they just welcomed her in to the fold like they always had, although everyone stayed out of her personal space. Lee, Tenten, Kiba, Hinata, and Sai were here alone. Glancing up Naruto saw Shikamaru come in with his arm around Temari of the Sand, of course right behind them were Gaara and Kankuro. Naruto was glad to see Gaara, they hadn't had a chance to talk as much he'd like to the last time they were together. Gaara was still the Kazekage so the fact that he was here meant that there was likely a lot of ANBU around too. Looking to the treetops around the outside of the Akimichi compound he spotted four sand shinobi. Going into sage mode he sensed seven more, four leaf and three sand. He'd have to talk to Gaara to see if the four that were visible were to be bait or if they were just incompetent. 

"Gaara," Naruto hailed his friend while the rest of the gang peeled off into smaller groups to catch up. The pair sat, ate, and chatted about what had been going on in their lives since they had last seen each other. Naruto still believed that Gaara was the only one to truly understand what his life was like, aside from Octo-Pops there were no other jinchuriki left. "You have a problem with Shikamaru and Temari dating?"

"No, the Nara can handle her, plus he has made some recommendations that we hadn't thought of for the security of the village. It will be interesting to see how they split their time between the Sand and the Leaf."

"Yeah Shika is really smart. I know he says he gets really bored, but sometimes you have to watch that he doesn't wear himself out."

"I think Temari will look after that." Gaara smiled and both watched the couple in question. Temari was on Shika's lap, feeding him little bites from her plate. They were actually kind of cute. Naruto hoped the he found love like that one day. "How is Sakura healing?"

"It's a day by day process. Physically, I think she's good, but.. Well I'm just glad that I'm able to be there to help her out."

"It's the nightmares. I know we all suffer from them too." Gaara took a quick glance over at the blonde, "Did you realize that you and Kurama still share your chakra with all of us whenever we need it at the absolute most."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes locked on to Gaara's, "am I hurting anyone?"

"No in fact it's been helping." Naruto nodded, and scanned the group again." so Naruto," Gaara caught the way the Hyuga princess watched his friend, "you seeing anyone?"

"No, I mean, I don't know." Naruto and Gaara were joined by Lee and Sai and talk turned to training, new jutsus and new squads.


	8. The Cautious Friend

The next morning Naruto spied Shikamaru on the roof across the way. 'I thought Kakashi-Sensei said that the gang was done watching our backs? I wonder what's up?' He headed out the window and straight to the smartest man he knew. "Hey Shikamaru, what's going on?"

"Nothing much. I guess I'm still a little cautious."

"Cautious over what?" Naruto watched as Shikamaru played with Asuma's lighter. No cigarette because Temari was down and she hated it when he smoked.

"I'm guessing he's cautious about me and what I'm doing here." Sasuke spoke up from just off to the left of the pair.

"Well for crying out loud, I sent you a message and asked you to come home. Sakura was missing and we needed you." Naruto didn't understand what the problem was.

"I think Naruto, that Shikamaru doesn't quite trust me yet. He's worried that I will hurt you or Sakura again, or the village and then..."

"Then you'll both be back where you were before the war, and the rest of us can't handle that." Shikamaru finished.

Naruto sighed, he thought it was likely something like this. Damn it, why couldn't they trust Sasuke like he did? "Look Shika, I know you're all concerned but I think you need to understand something here. Sasuke can't lie to me. He has always cared for Sakura, but his fear of turning into what he thought Itachi was and then what the village had made Itachi become forced him to deny those feelings. It ended with him hurting Sakura anyway and he knows it, they both do. However, he has been working non-stop to to make amends not only to Sakura but also to the village." Naruto hoped his friend didn't mind him sharing this, "He stays with me because I have the room and him having an apartment when there is need for housing in the village and he isn't here all the time doesn't sit well with him. When he wants privacy he either stays at the barracks, as you should know, or he camps outside of the village. He doesn't even take a full wage for his missions."

"Enough Naruto," Sasuke didn't want Naruto at odds with his friends, "You don't need to defend me. If Shikamaru and the others don't trust me, there's nothing I can do. I just need you and Sakura to believe in me."

"Well you have it and Yamato and Kakashi as well so don't forget that." Naruto pouted. He didn't like it when his friends didn't get along.

"Sakura's going to be up soon, will you start breakfast?" Sasuke asked, he wanted another minute with Shikamaru without the nosy blonde right on top of them at the minute.

"Yeah fine, but don't think I won't get this out of you later." Sasuke waved him off and the two watched as the jinchuriki headed for his apartment.

"Naruto's right on a lot of that Shikamaru. I'm not trying to brag, that's never been my style, just stating facts. I stay with him because keeping my space when others needed it seemed wasteful. Most of my pay goes back into the village coffers, Kakashi and Gai put it towards defense, I only keep enough to help Naruto out with the bills. I'm trying to do everything I can to right all the wrongs I did, I know it will never be enough, but maybe one day I'll be able to look myself in the mirror a little easier. As for Sakura, I do love her and she knows it. I will do anything for her. She's the one thing in my life that makes me smile. I know I could ask her to come with me and she would; but that wouldn't make her happy for long. She needs to be around her friends and family. Naruto will look out for her as much as she needs it, as will all of you. I will endeavor to always treat her with respect and love and if I don't she will be the first one to set me right." They both laughed at that. "Look I know things are little hairy with Ino, Naruto's kept me in loop. He's worse than an old lady with his gossip, but if it makes you feel better to keep an eye on me go ahead, just please, don't invade Sakura's privacy while doing so." 

Shikamaru watched the raven haired Uchiha, the man really did look like he couldn't care less what anyone thought of him. "So the fact that your woman spent at least two weeks in the arms of another man?" Shikamaru needed to know that his friends where safe.

"Look I understand what you're saying. But she wasn't in the arms of any man. She was being held safe by our best friend." Sasuke tried to explain, not for himself but to make life easier for Sakura and Naruto, "If Temari had been the one captured and you were out of town, would you get upset with her finding comfort and safety with Choji? Or Gaara? My biggest concern right now is Sakura. Naruto will always do what he thinks is right. I'm hoping you won't blame him for his big heart and that Hinata can look past this. I will be staying as long as Sakura needs me." He left the rooftop and went back into the apartment.

Looking into the apartment Shikamaru saw Sakura wrap herself around Sasuke while still wearing Naruto's jacket. Naruto himself was cooking, but he was obviously telling a story of some sort as his arms were flaying about and Sasuke was shaking his head. The threesome did seem to get along. Jumping down to street level Shikamaru thought about everything Sasuke said. As he strolled through the village he wondered if he was being too hard on Sasuke. How would he feel if he came home after Temari had been traumatized, the way Sakura had, to find her in bed with Choji? The whole gang knew when Naruto had moved Sakura into his apartment that there was nothing sexual going on. Hell even he trusted Naurto to hold Temari through the night if that's what she needed to get through, it would kill him not have her rely on him, but he'd do anything for the brash sand ninja. He bumped into something and fell flat on his ass. "Crap." looking up he saw Genma and Raidou standing over him. Their smirks spelled trouble.

"Heavy thoughts Shikamaru?" Raidou held out a hand to help young Nara to his feet.

"Genma, Raidou," Shikamaru dusted off his pants, "Sorry, I wasn't paying much attention."

"It's ok, I think you got the worst of it. So what has you so pensive today?" Genma switched his senbon from one side of his mouth to the other.

The shadow nin figured that a second opinion might be just what he needed. "Do you guys have time to talk?"

The friends looked at one another. Obviously something was weighing on the young Jonin's mind. "Sure," Raidou led them over to a small bench off to the side of the path. "Okay, so we have a bit of privacy, want to explain what has you ignoring even the most obvious things."

"It's Sasuke." Genma and Raidou looked at each other. They both knew the story, hell the whole village did. The young Uchiha was the only survivor of the clan massacre perpetrated by his elder brother Itachi. Itachi had been a golden boy, graduating from the academy and joining the ANBU at an extremely young age. Most in the village believe it was these pressures that caused him to snap and murder everyone in his clan. Later it was thought that Sasuke had been kidnapped by Orochimaru during the Chunin exams. When Sasuke attacked the Kage summit it had been a shock to everyone. He was trying to get revenge first on Itachi and then on the village. Sasuke had to be named rogue. He had redeemed himself during the fourth great ninja war. Hokage Kakashi made sure that it was known he had been instrumental in helping Naruto defeat Madara. It was those actions that convinced the five Kage to rescind their declaration of Sasuke being a rogue. Since he's been home Raidou had seen him numerous times as he handed in mission reports, they bypassed him and went straight to the Hokage's office. The Raven Uchiha often stayed in the general barracks or over at Naruto's. Genma, who was in charge of housing, knew that Sasuke had donated his apartment and the remaining buildings left standing on the Uchiha compound to the village. 

"So what's the problem with Sasuke?" Genma asked.

"I still don't trust him. Sakura was attacked a while ago, you knew about that?" Shikamaru waited for the pair to nod before continuing, "Well Naruto's looking after her, mostly at night when she has nightmares, and now Sasuke's living there too. I just, well, I know how Sakura and Naruto have a blind spot when it comes to him..."

"And you're worried about Naruto and Sakura?" Raidou guessed, "or are you worried about how with Sasuke back in their lives on a more permanent basis, that you are no longer the one that Naruto leans on?"

"Your whole group took Sasuke's defection quite hard. I mean in every year there's someone who goes rogue or dies early or both. That's the nature of being a Ninja. You twelve were so close in a lot of ways, I'm damn sure that Naruto and his happy-go-lucky personality is to blame for that. You guys always mesh together so well, it's what made your acceptance of Sai so easy, however, it also what makes it hard for you to forgive Sasuke. Keep your eyes on him if you need to, but trust in Naruto." Both men had worked on the mission report desk and knew the truth behind some of the missions team seven had been on in their search to bring Sasuke back to the village.

"He's not stupid," Shikamaru needed to hear this, so Genma continued where Raidou left off. "Naruto was fully prepared to either die or kill Sasuke. Sakura and Naruto had almost been killed by him a couple of times. The fact that they can both look passed that tells you they may know something you don't." Genma smiled trying to get the young statistician to see both sides. Sometimes being an elite Jonin gave you special insight, not to mention access to more information.

Shikamaru hadn't thought of it that way. "Thanks guys, I guess, I need some more time to think things through."

Genma gripped his shoulder, "We're not saying you're completely wrong, but you may be too close to see the big picture. Of course, the Hokage and Naruto are only human and you could be the one saying 'I told you so!' You've made it this far trusting your friends, so..."

"So keep it up. I get it. Thanks guys." Shikamaru stood up and headed off in no particular direction. 

"What do you think?" Raidou watched the young genius walk away. Shikaku's death had been felt keenly by the pair, they had worked with him and Inoichi on so many missions and projects. Raidou had made the comment once long ago that Shikaku made thinking sexy. Genma knew what he meant. They had both had the opportunity to work with Shikamaru as team leader, and knowing the way Kakashi relied on him proved he was his father's son. The Nara would come around and do what he thought was right. 

"I'm just glad he asked for a sounding board instead of going off with half formed ideas."

"Do you think he has a right to worry about the Uchiha? Should we talk to the Hokage?" Raidou liked the young raven, but he always had a thing for the underdogs.

"No, like I said, Naruto's not stupid. Or at least, he's not that stupid." The two smiled at that, "he will always do what he needs to in order to protect the village." Still, Genma thought he'd let Yamato know that Shikamaru was worried. After all the young genius might just know something that they didn't. "Come on, we need to head to work before we're too late." The pair headed off towards the mission office and the day's assignments.

The trio inside the apartment had no idea that a number of people were now talking about them and worried about their well-being. Sakura and Sasuke were wrapped around each other, on the couch enjoying the quiet of the morning.


	9. A Friend in Need

Naruto headed off for the balcony and a quiet place for him to meditate, something that Kurama had suggested he take up after the war as a way of controlling and understanding the energy flowing through him. The Sage of the Six Paths had given him a lot of responsibility. He was getting used to the noise in the apartment, bumping into Sasuke in the kitchen, the smell of Sakura's skin products in the bathroom. He knew it was temporary and that it would hurt when they left. He knew they couldn't stay with him forever and that he wasn't really alone. Naruto remembered his conversations with Yamato about falling in love and who he had strong feelings for. Sakura and Hinata were definitely at the top of the list with Sasuke; of course that didn't mean the rest of the group were not included. His mind far from calm he figured he'd take a a walk. Jumping down to street level, he started to ramble through the village. Letting his mind wander he watched children play, and villagers haggle with shopkeepers. He stopped to help couple of academy students with taijutsu forms much to their delight. A small tea shop caught his eye at lunch time and he stopped for a bite, before letting his mind wander again and his feet take him away. Dusk was just falling when he found himself outside the Hyuga compound. Since he was here he should pay his respects to Neji. Walking quietly through the compound he headed straight to the memorial stone.

"Greeting old friend. I didn't bring anything, Neji, Sorry." Naruto bowed before the stone and all the offerings left there. Sitting on the ground in front of it, he started to ramble. "Things are pretty messed up. I don't know if Tenten and Lee have told you about what happened with Sakura or if they even know. I'm sure you do though. She was tortured pretty bad Neji. I wasn't fast enough to save her. Captain Yamato and I got her out there and I've been trying my best to help her but I keep thinking that I'm not doing enough. I mean I tried to use what you had taught me, about the mind, but I don't know if I'm smart enough. Ya get me?" Naruto didn't realize that he had a couple of observers. Hinata, sensing Naruto's chakra, had gone in search of him. When she saw him at Neji's stone she stood amongst the trees and remained out of sight. She knew she should leave him to his mourning in peace, but was unable to stop watching him. Across the field, behind the young ninja, Hiashi Hyuga listened to the confessions of the man his daughter had her heart set on, still unsure if he was good enough for her. 

"I tried Kiba's trick of using scent to bring comfort, but I had nothing of Sasuke's, so I used my jacket. I guess it worked. I mean everyone says she's using it like a security blanket. And the nightmares she has, boy Neji, they scare me. She screams and thrashes and fights me. The things she calls outs. It hurts so bad Neji, to know that she suffered that much." Wiping the away the tears running freely down his face, he took a breath before looking up at the stars and continuing. "When she starts screaming like that, all I can think of is that I need to stop it, to protect her. She seems to calm down when I hold her, so that's how she's slept the last couple of weeks. I wait until she calls out before going to her. Sasuke was finally able to make it back home and he's been helping. I mean with both of us holding her at night, the nightmares have slowed and last night I was even able to sleep alone. I still got up when she screamed, but I was able to go back to bed by myself. I mean I actually slept, maybe five hours solid." He ran a hand across his face, "it feels like forever since I slept that good." He whispered. "Don't give me heck Neji, I would do anything for her, for any of you. You know that. Shikamaru and the gang were helping not only to make sure that we had a little privacy so Sakura could heal some, but also to watch our backs. They left her alone for a bit and now when they visit, she knows she's safe with them. Now that Sasuke is back the Hokage has put them back on the duty roster. I know he did it because the village needs them and you know those guys, they're the best Konoha has. But Shika doesn't trust Sasuke not hurt us or the village or to run. Sasuke says it doesn't matter but I know it bugs him. I mean how many times did I screw up on missions and you guys always forgave me? Why am I different? I know he screwed up majorly but there were reasons. Speaking of that if you run into Itachi there, please let him know that Sasuke is safe." Laughing to himself and shaking his head he tried to picture how a meeting between Itachi and Neji would go. "Actually I think that you and Itachi would get along just fine, you're both super good at fighting and the whole genius thing you both have going on. Not to mention the fact that both of you have similar stories. I'd tell you more but that's Itachi's story to tell and I made him a promise." 

The elder Hyuga started at this, there was a story behind Itachi, the Uchiha traitor? Just what was this Uzamaki privy too? 

"Anyway, right now I'm just...well to be honest I don't know what I am. Sakura has been living with me for almost six weeks and Sasuke now for a third of that. I mean I'm used to Sasuke staying with me, you know that, cause I've told you before. But this is different as now I'm sleeping with them, and boy did that sound pervy. It's just- I guess- I know Sakura's getting to the point where she wants to try going back to her apartment and I want her too. Cause that means she's healing right? And if she goes, so will Sasuke, so he can be there for her. But I'll be alone again. I know what you'd tell me. 'Naruto, stop whining over things that are going the way they're supposed to'. But it's how I feel. I think Sasuke feels the animosity coming from the guys and it hurts him, so he stays with me as a buffer, ya know. But with Sakura as, I guess damaged is the best word, as she is; Sasuke is pushing his emotions down to protect her and if they move out I don't think that will be good. I mean Sakura needs someone to help purge those negative emotions. That's how Takuma explained to me. In order for Sakura to really start healing she needs someone she can express those negative emotions to without them getting angry. Ok well Sasuke is better then me at that, but the second part was that she'd need someone who be able to help her change those negative emotions around to positive ones. We both know that's where Sasuke has problems." Naruto sighed, his copy of Neji's tone and voice had Hinata smiling through the tears. Her Naruto was so alone and yet he didn't have to be. "I try so hard to be a good person and to make you and my folks and Jiraya proud of me and I still feel like I'm failing. You had said that I hold more than one life in my hands, before you died, I often wish.." Naruto broke down into tears, not even really knowing what he wanted to say anymore. 

Hinata couldn't stand it anymore, rushing out of the trees and kneeling beside him she slid her arms around his shoulders and pulled his head to rest against hers, "Shh Naruto, it's ok. Everything will work out." She rested her cheek against his hair. Naruto just sat there in Hinata's arms and let the tears come. He was tired. Tired of being strong, of having people lean on him. He just needed some place where he felt safe and welcome.

 

"Hinata?!" Naruto whispered, his arms clenching around her.

"Come with me," she stood up and held out her hand, holding her breathe as she waited for the man she'd fallen in love with to reach back to her.

Naruto reached out for her, using his own strength to get up off the ground, but weaving his fingers with hers to draw strength of a different kind. With his head down, Naruto followed the dark haired Hyuga, as she lead him towards her rooms. Hiashi watched them leave. He knew he should stop them, the idea of Naruto in Hinata's rooms was improper, however one glance at the village's war hero had the elder holding his tongue. The young ninja looked so crest fallen and defeated. He'd never seen him like that. Even when the village had been avoiding him, Naruto Uzamaki always had a smile on his face and a light in his eyes. When the Hokage had taken him on as a genin, his outlook had only gotten brighter, and it increased even more under the guidance of Master Jiraya and Lady Tsunade of the Legendary Sanin. Even the villagers had changed their opinions of him. He had gained control of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox and used it to win against Pein and then Madara. Hiashi had gained a measure of respect for him, watching him as he had over the years. Neji had held him in high regards and had willingly given his life to protect him. He knew that the blonde visited Neji's stone just as often as Tenten and Lee did. He watched as the screen in Hinata's quarters closed, the dim light illuminating the two figures within. As a father he wanted to protest, but as a man he understood that sometimes, being held by a woman who loved you could bring you comfort. Slowly he followed them back towards the main compound. 

Hinata closed the screen behind her as she lead Naruto to the couch in her room. "Come and sit Naruto, rest." She sat him down in the middle of the sofa and went to get him a glass of water. "Here drink this." Bringing the glass to his lips, she cupped her hands around his. Putting the glass on the table she sat beside him ready to ask how to help and was surprised when he laid down. Pillowing his head in her lap.

"Thank you Hinata. Thank you." Naruto closed his eyes and let his mind quiet.

"Relax, you're safe here Naruto." Hinata grabbed the blanket from the back of the chesterfield and draped it over his shoulders. Carding her fingers through his short hair, she murmured soothing meaningless words. The screen opened just a crack and the eldest Hyuga looked into the eyes of her father, then glanced down at the man in her lap. She wasn't allowed males in her quarters. "Father?" She would fight for the right to take care of Naruto, he'd done so much for them.

"Shh, Hinata, don't worry. Take care of Naruto for now, we'll talk in the morning." Hiashi quietly intoned he listened to the soft snores coming from the man in his daughter's lap. The expression on his face was peaceful and relaxed, much different from the look he'd had at the memorial stone. His daughter had never looked stronger, the fire in her eyes showing her willingness to fight for the right to care for her chosen mate. Closing the screen, he left the pair secure in the knowledge that both would be okay. Smiling, he figured, he'd better get used to the idea of the Uzamaki becoming his son-in-law.


	10. We Can Try

Sasuke laid on his bed in Naruto's apartment. Sakura was asleep, wrapped tight in his arms. She was just starting to move about. He could tell that her nightmares were starting. Naruto still wasn't back. Sasuke rubbed his hands up and down Sakura's back trying to soothe her the best he could. Her arms squeezed tight around him as he reached for Naruto's jacket hanging from the head of his bed. They'd both wanted to see if she could sleep without the security of Naruto's scent. Sakura was proud of the fact that she'd been able to go through the day without relying on it's comfort, but at night when the memories resurfaced she needed the extra security it provided. Granted she hadn't gone back to work yet and dealing with injuries similar to her own would likely bring on more night terrors. Sasuke blew out a breathe and stared at the ceiling. It'd all come back to Naruto and his help. He'd seen the look in his best friends eyes that morning. 

After the war, when he'd seen how devastated the village had been. He'd easily given up the Uchiha compound to allow for villagers and fellow shinobi a place to live as the village was rebuilt. He'd even given up his right to an apartment as he spent most time trying to make up for his mistakes. When he first came back to village after his missions he stayed at the general barracks, but when Naruto had found out what he was doing, the knucklehead had moved him into this room in his apartment. Looking around the room at his prize possessions he realized he had a home again. The two of them often bumped along together okay but generally he was only here for a couple of days before he left for another mission to atone for his sins. These past weeks were the longest they'd been together since the end of the war when they were both recovering from their injuries. He and Naruto both had trouble living with people. It reminded him too much of the painful memories of life with his family before their deaths. Naruto had always been alone and Sasuke knew that the idiot suffered every time he left again. He was worried about how the blonde would react this time. Sakura had been living with him, hell she had been sleeping with him. That Naruto had someone in his space, often in his bed, would throw a kink into how he normally dealt with things. He should talk to Iruka or Kakashi before he left again. Sakura chose that moment to burrow deeper into his chest. Could he leave again? He loved Sakura, and in his own way, he was doing what he was for her. He wanted to become the man she would be proud of. To build a home here and raise a family. He knew that if he asked her, she would come with him, but she needed the village, and if he was totally honest with himself, so did he. Shikamaru's condemnation hurt, no matter how much he pretended it didn't. He relied on the guys to watch Sakura and Naruto's backs and if they didn't trust him, would there come a time when they wouldn't trust Naruto or Sakura? What about Hinata? He wasn't blind, like Naruto, he knew the raven haired Hyuga beauty was in love his best friend. How was all of this affecting her? Did she understand why Sakura was living there? He'd have to make sure he talked to her soon. Just because his relationship with Sakura was messed up didn't mean he'd allow Naruto to mess up his own relationship or his pending one. 

A scream ripped from Sakura's throat as she bolted upright.

Sasuke rubbed her back and tried his best to soothe her fears. Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, "Come on, I'll make some tea. You go have a quick shower, it'll be okay Saskura. We'll get through this."

Sakura nodded and headed to the bathroom. "He's not back yet, is he?"

"No, he's not," Sasuke stood in the doorway, his sleep pants riding low on his hips, Sakura rested her hand on his bare shoulder.

"Do you think.." Sakura didn't want to finish the thoughts running around in her head.

"No, he's fine, I know it." Sasuke subtly leaned back into her touch before going to make tea. "He's just..."

Sakura followed him, forgoing the idea of a shower, "Overwhelmed?!" She supplied, "I kind of figured he'd be chomping at the bit to get us out of here soon. He's not used to having anyone in his space for long. I mean missions are different as we're in a group and generally out under the sky, but here in his apartment..." 

Sasuke put the tea things on a tray and then handed it to Sakura. She followed him into Naruto's bedroom where he pulled the top blanket off of Naruto's bed and continued out onto the balcony. Sasuke dropped the blanket on the floor and went back inside to pull out the futon. Setting everything up in minutes, he created a pallet for Sakura and himself to pass the rest of the night. Leaning against the house he opened his arms and waited for Sakura to put the tray down beside them and crawl into his arms. "Yeah, Konohamaru is the only one who has spent more than one night here, aside from me." Sasuke rubbed his cheek across the top of her head. "This is going to hurt him. Sakura, what do we do?" 

Huddled together Sakura let the tears fall. She knew that she still needed help, and that relying on Naruto yet again seemed so irresponsible. But when the nightmares came it was Naruto who kept her safe. Maybe she'd just have to get used to this new normal. "I need to talk to Tuskki in the morning, perhaps if I ask him?" She trailed off. There wasn't one way to fix this, or to stop the memories. She already knew that, and her talks with Tuskki had just reinforced that, but maybe there was a way for her to limit the impact her fears had on her life. She needed to get back to work too. Maybe after talking to Tuskki she should go and talk to Lady Tsunade. With her arms around the man of her dreams and the smell of her best friend surrounding her, Sakura let the tension ease out of her body. "I guess we're going to have do what we normally do in situations like this."

Sasuke kissed the top of her head and tighten his grip on her, "and what's that?" He loved the smell of her and reveled in the joy of holding her close to him.

"We take it one step at a time and hope that it all will work out." She smiled as her cheek rubbed against his bare chest, the constant beat of his heart a welcoming sound.

Across the village Naruto turned in his sleep, pulling Hinata down and arranging her across his body to act as a living blanket. Mumbling in his sleep, Hinata smiled when she heard her name over and over again. "Shhh Naruto, everything will okay. We'll get through this, all of us together." She wrapped her arms around him and let him keep her warm. This was where she wanted to be.

Neither couple knew that up above them, was another group who had been worried. Kakashi, Iruka, Yamato and Gai stood on top the Hokage's offices overlooking the village sleeping below. They had heard a multitude of reports from various Jonin about Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura; and like Hinata and Sakura they too believed that the group would be okay. They'd deal with this like they dealt with everything else thrown their way. They'd band together and work as a group. Things would change, there was no doubt about that, but that was the nature of life. Change was constant, but that didn't mean change was bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work is not Beta'd although I'm looking for one.


End file.
